Suspected bomber killed in German wine bar explosion

At least 12 wounded in ‘deliberate’ blast outside music festival in southern city of Ansbach, the third attack in Bavaria in a week; police looking into motive

A “deliberate” explosion outside an open-air music festival in Ansbach, southern Germany, killed at least one and injured an estimated 12 others, according to local police.

Three of the wounded were said to be in serious condition.

“The explosion was set off deliberately,” said Michael Siefener, a spokesman for the regional Bavarian interior ministry, adding that authorities were trying to establish the exact cause.

The man killed in the explosion was likely the attacker, according to local media reports that cited police sources.

Police initially put the blast down to an accidental gas leak, but the city’s mayor, Carda Seidel, later said an “explosive device” was responsible, raising the specter of yet another in a string of terror attacks across Europe, including two others in Bavaria over the past week.

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The explosion took place at Eugen’s Weinstube, or Eugene’s Wine Bar, in the city’s old town, at approximately 10:12 p.m. local time. A three-day open-air music festival had just opened next to the site of the explosion. The festival was canceled late Sunday, authorities said, and some 2,500 festival-goers were sent home by police.

Officers cordoned off the center of the Bavarian city and rescue services were on the scene, the news agency dpa reported.

The mayor added that authorities have not ruled out the possibility that more than one explosion targeted the bar.

A Google Maps image showing the location of Ansbach, Germany, where an explosive device reportedly detonated outside Eugene's Wine Bar in the southern city's old town. (Google Maps) — A Google Maps image showing the location of Ansbach, Germany, where an explosive device reportedly detonated outside Eugene’s Wine Bar in the southern city’s old town. (Google Maps)

The UK’s Daily Express quoted local police spokesman Michael Konrad saying, “The only thing I know is that there has been an explosion, I can not confirm anything else.”

Joachim Herrmann, interior minister of Bavaria, flew to the city from Berlin as soon as reports emerged of the explosion, according to a spokesperson.

Germany, as well as nearby France, have seen a series of bloody attacks in recent days, including a truck rampage earlier this month in Nice that left 85 dead, a shooting in Munich on Friday that killed nine and a machete attack on Sunday by a Syrian refugee in the southwest German city of Reutlingen that left one dead and injured two others.

AFP contributed to this report.