By Karin Brulliard and Amy B Wang, (c) 2017, The Washington Post

An explosion shook a Minneapolis-area mosque during morning prayers Saturday, and an FBI official said it was caused by an “improvised explosive device.”

No one was injured in the blast at Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minn., which took place as a small number of worshipers gathered shortly after 5 a.m. Mohamed Omar, the center’s executive director, said in an interview that he was inside the mosque preparing for morning prayers when he felt a “huge explosion” that quickly caused smoke and flames. Rick Potts, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the investigation, told reporters Saturday afternoon that the blast was caused by an “improvised explosive device” but offered no further details about its composition or possible suspects. Executive Director Mohamed Omar told KEYC News, “One of our congregation members came out immediately and he saw a truck fleeing from the parking lot, running at very high speed.”

Muslim-American Society Executive Director Asad Zaman added, “Hate is not ok. We need a better America. Targeting people because of their race, their ethnicity or their religion is absolutely UN-American.”

The Minnesota chapters of the Muslim American Society and the Council on American-Islamic Relations are each offering a $10,000 reward for any information which leads to an arrest and conviction for the crime, New York Magazine reported.
An improvised explosive device goes off at a mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota. No injuries were reported, and the FBI is investigating the case.