House of Merkel's deputy attacked

German police on Friday were searching for a group of at least ten hooded figures who attacked the Hamburg home of Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is also Germany's finance minister. The perpetrators set fire to tires outside the building and threw jam jars filled with black paint at the exterior wall.

Police said that the incident in the upscale Altona district took place while Scholz, 60, was en route to Argentina to attend the G20 summit with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The assailants also perhaps sought to break windows, police said, because they found evidence of attempts to loosen paving stones near the building.

Scholz, of the Social Democratic (SPD) party, is a former mayor of Hamburg. He also has a residence in Potsdam, outside of Berlin.

Authorities said they could not confirm any motive for the attack, and that the perpetrators remain at large.

es/rt (dpa, AFP)

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