Two bombs go off in Dresden, Germany

Two separate bomb attacks took place in the German city of Dresden Monday night.

One of the attacks targeted a mosque while the second targeted the International Congress Centre of Dresden.

The two small bombs detonated in front of a mosque and a convention centre, though German police reportedly confirmed that no one was injured in the attacks. The only damage done was property damage, they added.

The first explosion was reported at just before 10:00pm outside a mosque on Hühndorfer Strasse in the eastern neighborhood of Cotta. An imam was inside the building at the time, along with his wife and two children. The second, which affected the International Congress Centre, was reported several minutes later, at 10:19pm and forced police to evacuate the nearby Martim Hotel.

Police said that they believe the attacks were related.

"Both attacks happened in the same time. Although no one claimed responsibility for the incident, we must have to consider a xenophobic motive for the attack," Horst Kretzschmar Dresden police commissioner said in a statement, adding that police were on high alert.

Overnight, Kretzschmar had deployed police personnel to protect Islamic institutions in Dresden, as well as the Turkish General Council.

"The attack might also be relevant to the German Unity Day, which will be celebrated next weekend," he said.

According to German media, both buildings were damaged, and mosques in the area of the first bomb were immediately put under police protection, as well as an important Islamic cultural centre.

"These events will certainly impact our current plans for patrolling [in the run-up to unification celebrations]. As of right now we are working in crisis mode!" said Kretzschmar.

Dresden has come under criticism for far-right politics and xenophobia in recent years, beginning with the anti-Islamisation PEGIDA movement founded in the city in October 2014.

The bombings came just after a PEGIDA march through the city. 

Movement founder Lutz Bachmann quickly took to Facebook to suggest that lazy police work was likely to falsely link PEGIDA to the attacks.

This has been followed by a spate of anti-migrant attacks, both on individuals and refugee accommodation.

German interior minister Thomas de Maizière condemned the bomb attacks, calling the actions "outrageous" during an event celebrating the tenth anniversary of the German Islam Conference in Berlin. "We do not want such a thing to happen in Germany, no matter who is targeted."