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| Fingerprints in Berlin truck match those of suspect Anis Amri | Fingerprints in Berlin truck match those of suspect Anis Amri |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Fingerprints found in the cabin of the truck that ploughed into a Berlin Christmas market match those of the suspect Anis Amri, Germany’s interior minister has confirmed. | |
| Speaking at a joint press conference with Angela Merkel, Thomas de Maizière said the fingerprints and other evidence made it “highly probable” that the Tunisian suspect was the perpetrator of Monday’s terrorist attack. | Speaking at a joint press conference with Angela Merkel, Thomas de Maizière said the fingerprints and other evidence made it “highly probable” that the Tunisian suspect was the perpetrator of Monday’s terrorist attack. |
| The German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported earlier on Thursday that Amri’s fingerprints were found on the driver’s door of the Polish-registered truck, while the daily Berliner Zeitung reported that his fingerprints were also found on the steering wheel. | |
| The chancellor said she hoped the suspect would be caught soon and that she had been heartened by the public reaction to the tragedy. “In the last few days I have been very proud of how level-headed the reaction of the majority of people to this situation has been.” | The chancellor said she hoped the suspect would be caught soon and that she had been heartened by the public reaction to the tragedy. “In the last few days I have been very proud of how level-headed the reaction of the majority of people to this situation has been.” |
| Scrambling to catch the suspect, who is feared to be armed and dangerous, German police carried out overnight raids in the German capital and Dortmund. | Scrambling to catch the suspect, who is feared to be armed and dangerous, German police carried out overnight raids in the German capital and Dortmund. |
| Amri, 24, is thought to have temporarily stayed at a Dortmund flat which police raided at about 6.30am. In Berlin, police raided flats in the city’s Kreuzberg, Moabit and Prenzlauer Berg districts at 4am. | |
| The state prosecutor has denied media reports that four of Amri’s “personal contacts” were arrested during the operation. “We are not aware of any arrests,” a spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday morning. | The state prosecutor has denied media reports that four of Amri’s “personal contacts” were arrested during the operation. “We are not aware of any arrests,” a spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday morning. |
| Later on Thursday, the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market reopened to the public after a memorial service. | Later on Thursday, the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market reopened to the public after a memorial service. |
| Germany’s security services are facing mounting pressure to explain how Amri could have carried out the attack when he had been under covert surveillance for several months and was known to multiple intelligence agencies for apparent ties to Islamist extremists. | |
| A deputy chairman of Merkel’s Christian Democratic party accused the intelligence agencies of incompetence, saying Wednesday’s reports on security failures had left him shocked. | A deputy chairman of Merkel’s Christian Democratic party accused the intelligence agencies of incompetence, saying Wednesday’s reports on security failures had left him shocked. |
| Amri registered in the North Rhine-Westphalia region when he entered Germany in July 2015 and had been based mainly in Berlin since February this year. He may have escaped the security agencies’ scrutiny due to a mix-up between regional authorities. | |
| “So the attitude seems to be: he’s off to Berlin, so the case is closed for us here, now it’s Berlin’s turn,” the CDU deputy chair, Armin Laschet, told Deutschlandfunk radio station on Thursday. He called for better coordination between security agencies across the federal state system. | |
| A European arrest warrant for Amri was issued on Wednesday, two days after the attack which killed 12 people and injured dozens more. He appears to have used six different aliases and three different nationalities. | A European arrest warrant for Amri was issued on Wednesday, two days after the attack which killed 12 people and injured dozens more. He appears to have used six different aliases and three different nationalities. |
| Amri, who had his request for asylum turned down in July this year, was already known to several security agencies because of his links to radical Islamism, according to Ralf Jäger, the interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia. | |
| Jäger said an investigation was launched earlier this year into suspicions Amri might be preparing “a serious act of violence against the state”. He was added to the government’s central terrorist watchlist in January and his telecommunications were monitored until September. | |
| US officials said Amri was on a US no-fly list, had researched bomb-making online and had been in contact with Isis at least once, the New York Times reported. | US officials said Amri was on a US no-fly list, had researched bomb-making online and had been in contact with Isis at least once, the New York Times reported. |
| German authorities said they had found Amri’s identity card under the driver’s seat of the truck. A wanted poster issued by the federal prosecutor offered a reward of up to €100,000 (£85,000) for members of the public who helped locate Amri, who is described as having worn dark clothing, bright shoes and a white scarf on Monday night. | German authorities said they had found Amri’s identity card under the driver’s seat of the truck. A wanted poster issued by the federal prosecutor offered a reward of up to €100,000 (£85,000) for members of the public who helped locate Amri, who is described as having worn dark clothing, bright shoes and a white scarf on Monday night. |
| Tunisian authorities have reportedly questioned Amri’s parents. His brother Abdelkader told Associated Press: “I ask him to turn himself into the police. If it is proved that he is involved, we dissociate ourselves from it.” | Tunisian authorities have reportedly questioned Amri’s parents. His brother Abdelkader told Associated Press: “I ask him to turn himself into the police. If it is proved that he is involved, we dissociate ourselves from it.” |
| Abdelkader said his brother may have been radicalised in prison in Italy, where he went after leaving Tunisia following the Arab spring uprisings. | Abdelkader said his brother may have been radicalised in prison in Italy, where he went after leaving Tunisia following the Arab spring uprisings. |
| German police admitted they initially detained the wrong man in the immediate aftermath of the attack. They released a 23-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker on Tuesday after he spent hours in custody. | German police admitted they initially detained the wrong man in the immediate aftermath of the attack. They released a 23-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker on Tuesday after he spent hours in custody. |
| Amri reportedly had links to a Salafist circle around Ahmad Abdelazziz, also known as Abu Walaa, an Iraqi-born preacher based in the German town of Hildesheim, who was arrested in November. Abu Walaa is suspected by the state prosecutor of openly supporting Isis and helping to recruit people for the terrorist group. The preacher denies having any links to Isis. | Amri reportedly had links to a Salafist circle around Ahmad Abdelazziz, also known as Abu Walaa, an Iraqi-born preacher based in the German town of Hildesheim, who was arrested in November. Abu Walaa is suspected by the state prosecutor of openly supporting Isis and helping to recruit people for the terrorist group. The preacher denies having any links to Isis. |
| According to Amri’s watchlist file, extracts from which were quoted by the broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk, he was suspected of recruiting collaborators for “an attack with an Islamist motivation” and was trying to obtain large-calibre automatic rifles through contacts in France. | According to Amri’s watchlist file, extracts from which were quoted by the broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk, he was suspected of recruiting collaborators for “an attack with an Islamist motivation” and was trying to obtain large-calibre automatic rifles through contacts in France. |
| The state prosecutor said Amri’s telecommunications had been under surveillance between March and September, after investigators had received information about a planned burglary with the possible aim of acquiring funds to purchase arms. | The state prosecutor said Amri’s telecommunications had been under surveillance between March and September, after investigators had received information about a planned burglary with the possible aim of acquiring funds to purchase arms. |
| However, the Tunisian suspect dropped off the security agencies’ radar in November. Newspapers were highly critical of the intelligence services. The Süddeutsche Zeitung said the authorities had “fallen asleep”, while Der Spiegel weekly said on its website that “they had him in their crosshairs” and he still managed to vanish. | However, the Tunisian suspect dropped off the security agencies’ radar in November. Newspapers were highly critical of the intelligence services. The Süddeutsche Zeitung said the authorities had “fallen asleep”, while Der Spiegel weekly said on its website that “they had him in their crosshairs” and he still managed to vanish. |
| The best-selling Bild tabloid said in a commentary that in future such suspects had to be locked up and not allowed “to roam free”. |