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| Berlin attack: European arrest warrant issued for Tunisian suspect | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| 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.” | |
| 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. | |
| 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.” | 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.” |
| 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/BJO0GjHWBH | Image of Berlin market attack suspect, Anis A. or Ahmed A. according to @Bild. 24 year old Tunisian registered in NRW pic.twitter.com/BJO0GjHWBH |
| 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| “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. | “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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| 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 | Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report |