Berlin: A German newspaper was today targeted in an arson attack for reprinting controversial cartoons from French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo and two people were arrested for involvement in the assault.
The building housing the office of Hamburg-based newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost was attacked with rocks and a burning object thrown through the window as police said the incident was linked to the daily's publication of the cartoons under the title “there must be so much freedom”.
Unknown persons threw stones and set on fire the newspaper's archive, causing damage to some files stored there, but no injuries were reported, media reports said.
Two persons suspected of involvement in the attack were taken into custody, the reports said, citing police officials. No members of the newspaper's editorial staff were present in the building at the time of the attack.
The city's fire brigade received a fire alarm at 02:22 AM (local time) and the fire could be put out speedily. Burntout files and old newspapers were taken out of the building.
The attack comes days after two extremists stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, killing a total of 12 people including some of France's best-loved satirists.
Charlie Hebdo has sparked anger in the past among Muslims for publishing cartoons of Prophet Mohammed.
Several German dailies had published the Charlie Hebdo cartoons on their front pages on Thursday in a gesture of solidarity with the French cartoonists.
German-language Bild am Sonntag newspaper today said the bloodshed in France could signal the start of a wave of attacks in Europe, citing communications by Islamic State leaders intercepted by US intelligence. German news agency DPA reported that the attack had occurred from a courtyard of the building and hit the newspaper's archive room.
It quoted a police spokeswoman as saying that the editorial team should be able to continue work in the building as the damage was relatively minor.
