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No indication of terrorism involved in German car blast: police

Xinhua, March 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

German police confirmed Tuesday that there was no indication of a terrorist link after a car explosion in the German capital of Berlin.

The explosion occurred on a main street in the western Berlin district of Charlottenburg in the morning on Tuesday, killing the male driver of a silver VW Passat.

The debris-strewn street was cordoned off for several hours while forensics experts examined the scene.

"We suspect that it was an act of homicide carried out by placing a bomb under the car," spokesman for Berlin prosecutors Martin Steltner told media.

Prosecutors confirmed that the victim was a 43-year-old and had a Turkish background. He was known to police over alleged drug dealing, falsifying currency and illegal gambling.

Local police said there was currently no evidence that the explosion was a terrorist attack, adding that one possible link went to organized crime gangs.

Another point of the ongoing inquiry focuses on the target of the incident. It is not known so far whether the victim, who was not the owner of the blasted car, had been the intended target. Endit