German police arrest two for 2022 bombing of left-wing party offices
German police have arrested two suspects in a July 2022 bombing that destroyed the local headquarters of the left-wing Die Linke party in the western German city of Oberhausen.
No one was hurt in the explosion, which largely destroyed Die Linke's offices and damaged adjoining buildings. A prosecutor spoke of a stroke of luck given the power of the blast.
On Thursday, police in nearby Essen announced that a 32-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of being behind the bombing.
Authorities said a recent raid on the couple's flat turned up new evidence tying them to the bombing.
A spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office handling the case said that there are no indications that the two are affiliated with far-right fringe Reich Citizens movement, but the possibility of links to other far-right extremist groups is still being investigated.
Die Linke's local spokesman in Oberhausen welcomed the arrests. He said he remains convinced that the perpetrators came from the far-right scene.
Swastikas, the symbol of the Nazi Party, had repeatedly been smeared near the office, although there had not been direct threats before the bombing, he said.
He said the party is urgently awaiting further information about the case from authorities.
