German paper becomes target of arson attack after reprinting Charlie Hebdo cartoons

Xinhua

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A German news paper, which reprinted Charlie Hebdo cartoons, became the target of an arson attack early Sunday morning following a terrorist attack on the French satirical weekly.

Stones and a burning object were thrown into a building of Hamburger Morgenpost from its backyard shortly after 2:00 am (0100 GMT), said the paper in the northern port city of Hamburg.

Local police said the fire in two rooms of the building was put out quickly. Some documents were damaged, but no one was injured in the attack.

Two young men who behaved suspiciously in the area were arrested, police said without giving further information about the suspects.

The editorial team should be able to continue work in the building as the damage was relatively minor, a police spokeswoman told reporters.

The paper reprinted cartoons published by the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo after the terrorist attack in Paris. The state security in Hamburg has launched an investigation, but it remained unclear whether the attack was linked to the reprinted cartoons

Representatives of the news paper declined to comment on the incident. Enditem