Thursday August 17, 2017
Members of the Dar Al Farooq Center in Bloomington on Sunday paid the mosque a visit to survey the damage after a fire-bombing on Saturday. They had been unable to enter then because authorities had cordoned off the complex. (Pioneer Press /Kristi Belcamino)
The FBI is offering a $30,000 reward for information in the bombing of a Minnesota mosque earlier this month.
The FBI’s Minneapolis Division announced the reward in a tweet Wednesday. The FBI says finding whoever was responsible for the Aug. 5 explosion at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington remains its “top priority.”
The explosion happened early on a Saturday just before morning prayers and caused extensive damage to the imam’s office. No one was injured.
Muslim advocacy groups and Twin Cities’ mosques are separately offering a combined $24,000 reward.
The Dar Al-Farooq mosque primarily serves Somalis in the Minneapolis area. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community outside of east Africa, with an estimated 57,000 people, according to the most recent census estimates.