Car bomb explodes

Another explosion in front of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ house

The Jehovah's Witnesses are currently being targeted by an arsonist.(Bild: Gerald Schwaiger)

Another alarm around the Jehovah's Witnesses in Styria: on Friday morning, a car blew up in Zettling, south of Graz. No one was injured, but the car belonged to a member of the Styrian religious community. According to the police, a connection with the current investigations into the Jehovah's Witnesses cannot be ruled out. The special commission set up for this purpose is now investigating.

The residents of Zettling were woken from their sleep in the early hours of the morning. A loud bang was heard and suddenly a car was on fire. "Some kind of explosion on the vehicle is likely to have caused the small car and an adjacent hedge of thujas to catch fire," said the Styrian police.

Memories of attacks come to mind
However, it is unlikely that the hedge of thujas in question belonged to just any house. Initial investigations by the police identified a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses south of Graz as the owner of the car parked in the driveway. The man had parked it the previous evening - unaware of the car bomb attached to it.

Jehovah's Witnesses are currently being targeted by a dangerous perpetrator.(Bild: Gerald Schwaiger)

"A connection can be assumed"
Horror memories are now coming flooding back to the religious community: it was only at the end of March that a functioning explosive device was found outside the Kingdom Hall in Kalsdorf, and last year several bombs went off in Leibnitz. "A connection can be assumed," says the police.

At any rate, an explosive device is currently assumed. Criminologists have carried out extensive forensics at the scene. The Cobra defusing service and an explosives detection dog were also deployed at the scene. The "Michael" special commission at the State Office for State Security and Counter-Extremism has taken over the investigation.

The Zettling volunteer fire department was able to extinguish the burning car.(Bild: APA/FF ZETTLING/CHRISTIAN GLAUNINGER)

Nobody was injured
Fortunately, no one was injured this time either. Around 15 firefighters from the Zettling fire department were able to bring the fire under control quickly. "The municipality is supporting the police with the clean-up and investigation," says Matthias Pokorn, Mayor of Premstätten. "This is a terrible story that should not be repeated anywhere in Austria," he adds.

The car on the gravel driveway of the house was a total loss with an unknown amount of damage. The wreck was removed in the early afternoon. Investigations into the cause of the fire and possible perpetrators are now once again in full swing.