The British police say a suspicious device found outside a mosque in Walsall, central England, was a bomb and that the incident is being treated as an anti-Muslim hate crime.
The police attended the scene of the incident after locals reported hearing a loud noise like an explosion late on Saturday and found the remnants of the device.
The West Midlands Police had to evacuate 150 nearby homes as bomb disposal experts examined a suspicious item found outside the mosque and later said the noise Å“appeared to be consistent” with the object going off.
“The force is taking this attack against the mosque very seriously and we have a major investigation under way,” said Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Rowe.
She added that they have also called in the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit to investigate the case.
“At this stage we are keeping an open mind on a motive, but have recorded it as a hate crime,” Rowe said.
The blast left nobody hurt while the property damage is reported to be minimal.
The attack comes as London police said earlier this month that Islamophobic incidents have surged eight-fold since the murder of a British soldier in south east London back in May.
AMR/HE
This article originally appeared on: Press TV