Letter Found Near Borussia Dortmund Bus Explosion 'Takes Responsibility' for Act

A letter is reported to have been discovered near the scene of a "targeted attack" on the Borussia Dortmund team bus in which responsibility for the incident has been admitted.

According to Barney Henderson of the Daily Telegraph, a German prosecutor said the note found near the site of the attack "takes responsibility for the act."

It's been reported by Sueddeutsche Zeitung (h/t Reuters) that in the document, the motive for the attack is said to be a response to German military action in Syria against Islamic State. "The newspaper also said that the letter might be a deliberate attempt by the perpetrators to mislead investigators," it's noted.

The Bundesliga side’s vehicle was the target of three explosions on Tuesday night ahead of their UEFA Champions League showdown with Monaco, leaving defender Marc Bartra in hospital with a fractured wrist and prompting the match to be postponed until Wednesday, per BBC Sport.

The attack took place as the Dortmund team left their hotel on Tuesday to head to their Westfalenstadion for the quarter-final showdown.

Dortmund police authorities held a press conference after the attacks and detailed the nature of the explosions.

"We must start from [the position this was] a targeted attack on BVB's team," said the chief of police Gregor Lange, per Mark Crellin of Sky Sports. "Strong police forces are in operation. We also have explosive detection dogs in use and decided to search the scene from the air. At the present time it is not clear what the background of the act is."

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As relayed by Crellin, the police force also confirmed the existence of the letter and suggested on their Twitter feed that "the authenticity is currently being tested."

Per sports journalist Alex Chaffer, the authorities have also provided details on what they are searching for at this time:

Dortmund’s goalkeeper Roman Burki has since spoken about what it was like to be onboard the bus when the explosions went off.

"The bus then turned down the main street and there was a massive explosion," he told Blick (h/t Mark Critchley of The Independent. "I was sitting in the back row next to [Bartra], who was hit by fragments of broken glass. After the bang, we all ducked and some threw themselves to the ground."

As relayed by Deutsche Welle’s Thomas Sparrow, the country has come out in support of Dortmund after the attacks:

Indeed, the reaction following the incident from many parts of the football community has been positive, with Dortmund fans offering stranded Monaco supporters accommodation by utilising the hashtag "bedforawayfans" on social media.

The rescheduled match at the Westfalenstadion will be played on Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. (BST) ahead of Real Madrid's visit to Bayern Munich and Leicester City's match at Atletico Madrid.