Arsonists Attack German Newspaper That Republished Charlie Hebdo Cartoons

             

Two men were arrested Sunday in connection with an arson attack on the building of a German newspaper that re-published cartoons by the French magazine Charlie Hebdo after extremists killed 12 people there on Wednesday, according to police. Rocks and an "incendiary device" were thrown into the windows of the Hamburger Morgenpost office early Sunday morning, according to a statement from the Hamburg Police.

The statement and the newspaper said that no one was injured, but several files were damaged before the fire department arrived to contain the fire. A 35-year-old and a 39-year-old man were taken into custody in connection with the attack, police said, without specifying whether more assailants might be on the loose.

The Hamburger Morgenpost featured several Charlie Hebdo cartoons — some of which were of the prophet Muhammad — on their front page in solidarity with the satirical magazine after gunmen attacked their offices while yelling "Allahu Akbar!" (or "God is great!").

Police have not yet determined whether the arson was in response to the cartoons, but other German newspapers that also republished Charlie Hebdo cartoons were under police protection on Sunday, according to The Associated Press.        

BODO MARKS / AFP - Getty Images

Fireworkers gather in the courtyard of German regional newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost editorial office in Hamburg, northern Germany, on January 11, 2015 after an arson attack. The paper that reprinted Mohammed cartoons from the French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo was the target of an arson attack with rocks and a burning object early Sunday January 11, 2015, but no one was hurt, police said.

Hamburger Morgenpost        ✔ @mopo

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Unsere heutige Titelseite, in Solidarität mit den ermordeten Kollegen. #JeSuisCharlie

1:23 AM - 8 Jan 2015

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