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Berlin truck attack: police 'seeking Tunisian man' Berlin attack: European arrest warrant issued for Tunisian suspect
(about 2 hours later)
Police are searching for a Tunisian man in connection with the truck attack on a Christmas market that killed 12 people in Berlin on Monday night, German media reported. German authorities have issued a European arrest warrant for a Tunisian man with alleged ties to Islamic extremists who has been identified as a suspect in the Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 12 people on Monday.
Several media outlets said police had found an identity document under the driver’s seat of the vehicle in the name of Anis Amri, born in Tataouine in 1992, and that the suspect was believed to use different names. The wanted notice, obtained by the Associated Press, says Anis Amri should be considered armed and dangerous and appears to have used six different aliases and three different nationalities.
Checks are being made in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the suspect had previously been registered at a refugee shelter in the town of Emmerich on the Rhine, on the Dutch-German border. Amri is being sought in Germany and across Europe’s border-free travel zone, the interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, said after briefing parliament’s domestic affairs committee. He stressed: “This is a suspect, not necessarily the perpetrator. We are still investigating in all directions.”
The German interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, confirmed that a new suspect was being sought, but said he could not confirm information about the suspect’s identity. “It is important that we find this suspect, and that’s why it is important to carry out an undercover search.” he said “We are gathering the data and the all the evidence.” Stephan Mayer, a senior politician with the governing CSU party, said the suspect was in his early 20s and apparently used various identities. He was considered by authorities to be part of the “Salafist-Islamist scene” and apparently had spent time in pre-deportation detention in Germany after his asylum application was rejected.
“I ask for your [the media’s] understanding not to issue any speculation about this person. We will let you know further information when we have further facts, and not before.” Ralf Jäger, the interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, said: “Security agencies exchanged their findings and information about this person with the joint counter-terrorism centre in November 2016.”
Conflicting reports regarding Amri’s status have circulated around German media on Wednesday afternoon. According to reports by state broadcaster ARD and Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Amri arrived in Italy in 2012 and moved to Germany in July 2015, where he applied for asylum. Since April 2016, his status has been Duldung or “temporary suspension of deportation”, which means his application was rejected but he had not yet been forcefully evicted. Checks are being made in the western state, where Amri had previously been registered at a refugee shelter in the town of Emmerich am Rhine.
Jäger said the suspect’s application for asylum in Germany was rejected in July. Attempts to deport him to Tunisia failed because he did not have the required identification papers and the Tunisian authorities disputed whether he was their national.
Several media outlets earlier reported that police had found under the driver’s seat of the truck used in the attack an identity document in the name of Amri, born in Tataouine in 1992.
Image of Berlin market attack suspect, Anis A. or Ahmed A. according to @Bild. 24 year old Tunisian registered in NRW pic.twitter.com/BJO0GjHWBHImage of Berlin market attack suspect, Anis A. or Ahmed A. according to @Bild. 24 year old Tunisian registered in NRW pic.twitter.com/BJO0GjHWBH
Intelligence sources cited by Der Spiegel said Amri was detained to be deported in Ravensburg on 30 July, but it was unclear whether he had returned to Germany after deportation or not left Germany at all.
Amri reportedly had links to a Salafist circle around the Iraqi-born, Hildesheim-based hate preacher Ahmad Abdelazziz A, also known as Abu Walaa, who was arrested in November.Amri reportedly had links to a Salafist circle around the Iraqi-born, Hildesheim-based hate preacher Ahmad Abdelazziz A, also known as Abu Walaa, who was arrested in November.
Early on Wednesday, authorities said they had received more than 500 leads that could help them identify the suspect. A 23-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker who was arrested as a suspect in the immediate aftermath of the deadly attack was released on Tuesday evening after police acknowledged they had caught the wrong man. A 23-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker who was arrested as a suspect in the immediate aftermath of Monday’s attack was released on Tuesday evening after police acknowledged they had caught the wrong man.
Officials said they were still optimistic the perpetrator could be identified and caught swiftly. Among those killed in the attack was the truck’s registered driver, Łukasz Urban, a 37-year-old Polish national. Citing anonymous investigators, the German tabloid Bild reported on Wednesday that Urban, who was found with gun and stab wounds, had been shot after the truck came to its final standstill, and may have fought with the driver until the moment the vehicle ploughed into a row of booths at the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz.
André Schulz, the head of the German Union of Detective Constables, said investigators were analysing DNA traces and fingerprints, as well using GPS data from the evening of the attack to trace the perpetrator’s mobile phone. “We have many ways to find this person,” Schulz said. “There must have been a struggle,” a source quoted by Bild said, speculating that the attacker could have stabbed Urban because he tried to grab the steering wheel to avert an even greater tragedy.
Among the dead was the vehicle’s registered driver, Łukasz Urban, a 37-year-old Polish national. Citing anonymous investigators, the German tabloid Bild reported on Wednesday morning that Urban, who had gun and stab wounds, had been shot after the truck came to its final standstill, and may have fought with the driver until the moment the vehicle ploughed into a row of booths at the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz. The family of a missing 31-year-old Italian woman, Fabrizia di Lorenzo, fear she was also among those killed. She did not turn up to work and her phone and travel card were found at the crime scene. Her father, Gaetano, told Italian media that he had given up hope of seeing her again.
“There must have been a struggle,” a source quoted by Bild said, speculating that the driver could have stabbed Urban because he tried to grab the steering wheel to avert an even greater tragedy. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, although there is no evidence yet for its claim. Through its Amaq news agency, the jihadi group claimed the attacker was a “soldier of the Islamic State”. The phrasing matches that used to claim previous lone wolf attacks, such as the incident in Orlando in June when 49 people were killed at a gay nightclub.
The family of a missing 31-year-old Italian, Fabrizia di Lorenzo, fear she was one of the dead. She did not turn up to work and her phone and travel card were found at the crime scene. Her father, Gaetano, told Italian media that he had given up hope of seeing her again. The Polish-registered truck careered into the market off a main road at about 8pm local time on Monday. The vehicle is believed to have been laden with 20 tonnes of steel girders. It travelled for about 80 metres at a reported 45-50mph (70-80km/h) before coming to a halt outside the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, although there is no evidence yet for its claim. Through its Amaq news agency, the jihadi group claimed the attacker was a “soldier of the Islamic State”. The phrasing matches that used to claim previous lone wolf attacks, such as the incident in Orlando in June when 49 people were killed at a gay nightclub.
The Polish-registered truck careered into the market off a main road at about 8pm local time on Monday. It is believed to have been laden with 20 tonnes of steel girders. It travelled for about 80 metres at a reported 45-50mph (70-80km/h) before crashing into wooden stalls and shoppers and coming to a halt outside the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church.
Politicians gathered for a service in the church on Tuesday evening. Joachim Gauck, the German president, said the church, which was bombed during the war, had suffered “another open wound” but stood witness to Berlin’s ability to overcome difficult times.
There are about 2,500 Christmas markets in Germany, including 60 in the capital, and questions are being asked about whether they are well enough protected from the threat of terrorism. Security experts have warned for years that they could be a soft target for terrorists because they are rarely cordoned off and have few or no bag checks.There are about 2,500 Christmas markets in Germany, including 60 in the capital, and questions are being asked about whether they are well enough protected from the threat of terrorism. Security experts have warned for years that they could be a soft target for terrorists because they are rarely cordoned off and have few or no bag checks.
In November, US authorities warned their citizens to avoid Germany’s Christmas markets, considering them to be a high risk. No such warning was issued by German authorities.In November, US authorities warned their citizens to avoid Germany’s Christmas markets, considering them to be a high risk. No such warning was issued by German authorities.
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report