The president of the Jewish community of Tatarstan, Russia was targeted in a bombing attack Monday morning at his office in the capital city, Kazan.
Осмотр с использованием современного криминалистического оборудования офиса, в котором было совершено покушение на казанского предпринимателя и его помощницу pic.twitter.com/vE3ByvoCV7
— Следственный комитет (@sledcom_rf)
An explosive package was sent to Mikhail Skoblionok, director of a construction and sales company and head of the Jewish community in the central Russian republic of Tatarstan, a Muslim-majority region, according to a report Monday in the Moscow Times.
The package exploded when an employee at the office tried to open it with Skoblionok in the room, blowing a hole in the center of his desk. Both were wounded in the attack and were taken to a local hospital.
“Skoblionok and his aide received burns and eye injuries as a result of the detonation of an unknown device,” investigators said.
Police have opened an investigation into the incident but it is not yet clear whether the attack was motivated by anti-Semitism or criminal issues. In either case, police told reporters it is being investigated as an attempted murder.
Skoblionok heads the Federal Jewish National and Cultural Autonomy umbrella organization of Tatarstan.
