German Police Seek Identity of Woman in Church Bombing

Two of 10 parishioners injured in a gory suicide bombing during a Christmas Eve Mass were in critical condition Wednesday as police searched for the identity of the attacker.

The explosion, which killed three people including the female assailant, did not appear to be politically motivated, police said.

As the first hymn began on Christmas Eve, a woman sitting near the back of the Lutheran Church Sindlingen-South still hadn’t removed her wrap. It was an icy night, but it seemed odd to parishioners given the warmth inside their small stone church, decorated with a Christmas tree lit up for a late service.

Song filled the church for only a moment before the woman detonated an explosion--probably two hand grenades tucked under her brown cape--killing herself and two sisters sitting nearby.

Bloodied survivors fled screaming, although authorities said many who were able returned, distraught and not knowing what else to do. Inside, chunks of blackened flesh stuck to the church ceiling and chunks of wooden pews lay in pools of blood.

Ten of the 70 worshipers remained hospitalized Wednesday, including a critically injured woman and 12-year-old girl.

Three others were in serious condition.

The sisters who died, ages 59 and 61, were from the western Frankfurt suburb of Sindlingen. Most of the worshipers celebrating the birth of Christ knew each other. Many worked at the nearby Hoechst chemical plant. A neighboring church, St. Dionysus, planned a memorial service for Sunday.

Although her lower body was blown up in the blast, the woman’s head remained intact and police released a photograph of it, black smudges on her face. They said she appeared to be about 30.

“The evidence indicates that she was disturbed and wanted to kill herself in a spectacular action,” said police spokesman Manfred Feist.

He did not say what evidence led to that conclusion.