Explosion damages store in western German city of Cologne

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - An explosion at a popular shopping street in Cologne on Wednesday morning caused extensive damage to a clothing store, raising concerns about safety in the city.

The explosion occurred at approximately 5:00 a.m. local time (0300GMT) at the entrance of a clothing store on the Ehrenstrasse, only a few hundred meters away from a night club which was targeted in an explosive attack two days ago.

No casualties were reported, but the explosion caused a small fire in the store, which was quickly extinguished by the fire brigade.

Authorities were investigating whether the two explosions in the city center were connected.

Cologne’s police department released the photo of the suspect who detonated an explosive device at the entrance of the night club on Monday, and asked anyone with information to contact them.

According to the local media reports, authorities suspect that drug gangs with links to mafia groups in the Netherlands could be behind the recent kidnappings and explosions in northwestern Germany.