A mob of between 30 and 40 alleged far-left anarchist militants attacked a police patrol in the Leipzig district of Connewitz, well-known as a hub of far-left extremist activity.
The police officers were called to the area after reports that garbage bins had been set on fire at the Herderpark at around 1:15 am on early Sunday morning and when they arrived on the scene they were set upon by a mob of dozens of people.
“When police officers arrived at the scene, their patrol car was pelted with bottles by a group of about 30 to 40 people,” a police spokeswoman told German tabloid Bild.
According to the newspaper, the attackers fled the area in different directions following the attack and an investigation has been launched.
While the tabloid referred to the attackers as “anarchists,” local police say they are still investigating potential political motives for the attack on the officers.
The Connewitz area has been a hub of far-left extremism for years and has seen repeated incidents of vandalism and violent attacks by far-left militants, often with police officers being targetted.
In 2019, in order to better deal with the growing threat from far-left extremists in Leipzig, a special police taskforce named Soko-Linx was formed to investigate far-left politically motived crimes.
The task force was founded after Antifa militants attacked construction sites in the Connewitz area and caused at least 10 million euros in damages. Far-left extremists also viciously beat a construction company employee in her own home in November of 2019.
At the time, local police spokesman Andreas Loepki noted that the tactic of home invasions had previously only been used against far-right extremists by Antifa groups in the past.
Last year, Antifa militants were investigated for attempted murder twice in Leipzig, with the first investigation concerning a brutal attack on a police officer on New Year’s Eve.
The officer was also attacked in the Connewitz district and was injured so badly after the attack by the extremists, he required emergency surgery at a nearby hospital.
The second attempted murder investigation came after an incident in November of 2020 that saw a mob of 15 to 20 far-left anarchists attack a pair of anti-lockdown protestors, kicking and stomping on the victims’ heads.
The attack only ended after a nearby police officer fired a warning shot from his firearm, which dispersed the extremists.