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Berlin lorry attack: What we know | Berlin lorry attack: What we know |
(about 20 hours later) | |
Berlin attack: What we know | Berlin attack: What we know |
A lorry smashed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin on 19 December, killing 12 people and injuring 49, leaving 18 in a critical condition. | |
So-called Islamic State (IS) said the following day that one of its "soldiers" carried out the attack on Breitscheidplatz Christmas market, but offered no evidence. | |
Police initially detained a 23-year-old Pakistani man, who denied any involvement and was later released after questioning by investigators. | |
After an inspection of the lorry, which was registered in Poland, authorities discovered legal papers belonging to a Tunisian man, Anis Amri, triggering a Europe-wide manhunt. | |
Amri's fingerprints were later discovered on the door of the lorry. | |
It is thought that Amri may have been injured in a struggle with the Polish driver, who was found murdered in the cab following the attack. | |
German authorities later warned that Amri was likely to be armed and offered a reward of up to €100,000 (£84,000; $104,000) for information leading to his arrest. | |
What happened? | What happened? |
At 20:14 local time (19:14 GMT) the lorry, laden with steel beams, crashed into people gathered around wooden huts and stands selling mulled wine and sausages. | At 20:14 local time (19:14 GMT) the lorry, laden with steel beams, crashed into people gathered around wooden huts and stands selling mulled wine and sausages. |
The market was packed with tourists and locals, at Breitscheidplatz, near Berlin's famous Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was damaged in a World War Two bombing raid. | The market was packed with tourists and locals, at Breitscheidplatz, near Berlin's famous Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was damaged in a World War Two bombing raid. |
The lorry drove 50-80 metres (160-260 ft) through the market. | |
Witnesses reckoned its speed to be about 64km/h (40mph), as it sent market stalls flying, leaving a trail of debris and casualties. | Witnesses reckoned its speed to be about 64km/h (40mph), as it sent market stalls flying, leaving a trail of debris and casualties. |
After the lorry stopped, the driver reportedly fled into the darkness of the Tiergarten park. | |
One witness set off in pursuit for more than a mile (2km), then called the police. Soon after that the Pakistani man was arrested near the park's Victory Column monument. | |
He was later released. | |
The lorry's Polish driver, named as Lukasz Urban, 37, was found dead in the passenger seat. Police said he appeared to be the victim of a hijack. | |
A pistol apparently used to kill him has not been found. | A pistol apparently used to kill him has not been found. |
The German news website Focus said analysis of the lorry's GPS data showed that its engine had been started several times on Monday afternoon, suggesting that someone had been learning to drive it. | |
At 19:34, the lorry set off for Breitscheidplatz. | |
Who is the suspect? | |
Anis Amri, 24, was known to authorities and was under surveillance in Berlin between March and September. | |
He was reportedly monitored on suspicion of planning a robbery in order to pay for guns, but surveillance was lifted for lack of evidence. | |
Before arriving in Germany in July 2015, Amri served four years in prison in Italy over a fire at a school and refugee reception centre. | |
He was also sentenced to five years in prison in Tunisia in absentia, reportedly for aggravated theft with violence. | |
According to German police, Amri, born on 22 December 1992, used six different aliases, at times trying to pass himself off as Egyptian or Lebanese. | |
He was facing deportation as of June this year but remained in Germany because of a delay in receiving paperwork from Tunisia. | |
Officials later confirmed that Amri had attracted the attention of counter-terrorism police. | |
Who were the victims? | |
So far, along with the driver, only one other victim of the lorry attack on the crowded Breitscheidplatz market has been officially named. | |
Israeli tourist Dalia Elyakim, 60, was visiting Berlin with her husband when she was killed on Monday. | |
Two Germans - a 32-year-old man from Brandenburg an der Havel and a 53-year-old woman from Dahme-Spreewald - were also among the dead, the state's interior ministry said. | |
Fabrizia di Lorenzo, an Italian who has not be heard from since, is feared dead, while a German woman from Neuss, near the west German city of Duesseldorf, is also believed to have died. Her son, aged 40, is among the injured. | |
In total, it is believed six Germans were killed in the attack, although five people remain unidentified, according to German website RP Online. | |
Are there Islamist links, as in the Nice or Paris atrocities? | Are there Islamist links, as in the Nice or Paris atrocities? |
The attack in Berlin was claimed by so-called Islamic State (IS). | |
The Nice beachfront attack, carried out by a Tunisian-born man, was also claimed by IS. | The Nice beachfront attack, carried out by a Tunisian-born man, was also claimed by IS. |
The jihadist group - currently being attacked by Western and Russian warplanes in Iraq and Syria - has urged its supporters to use vehicles to attack Westerners. | The jihadist group - currently being attacked by Western and Russian warplanes in Iraq and Syria - has urged its supporters to use vehicles to attack Westerners. |
Germany was shocked by four attacks in the summer, two of which - by asylum seekers - were claimed by IS. | Germany was shocked by four attacks in the summer, two of which - by asylum seekers - were claimed by IS. |
Alternative for Germany (AfD), an increasingly popular anti-immigrant party, warned that Chancellor Angela Merkel's "open-door" policy towards refugees in 2014-2015 had created a big security risk. |