Hundred Take Shelter at Cologne Mosque during Bomb Disposal Operation

BERLIN (IQNA) – Several hundred residents took shelter in the Central Mosque in Cologne, Germany, as authorities were defusing an unexploded bomb from World War II in the city.

Thousands of residents were evacuated from their homes before the bomb disposal operation on Thursday night.

The area were the operation was going on is close to Cologne Central Mosque complex.

“Our door is always open to our neighbors, we have tried our best to make them feel like they are at home,” said Muharrem Kuzey, head of the Turkish-Muslim umbrella group DITIB told Anadolu Agency.

German authorities in the western city said around 5,400 people were cleared from a residential area in the city center during the bomb disposal operation.

The half-ton American bomb, which was found during construction work, was successfully defused by the experts later in the night, the municipality said in a statement.

Source: Anadolu Agency