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| Police raid flats in search for Berlin truck attack suspect Anis Amri | Police raid flats in search for Berlin truck attack suspect Anis Amri |
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| Police scrambling to find the Tunisian man suspected of being the driver of the truck that drove into a Berlin Christmas market on Monday night have carried out raids overnight in the German capital and Dortmund. | Police scrambling to find the Tunisian man suspected of being the driver of the truck that drove into a Berlin Christmas market on Monday night have carried out raids overnight in the German capital and Dortmund. |
| Germany’s state prosecutor denied media reports that four “personal contacts” of the suspect Anis Amri had been arrested during the police operation. “We are not aware of any arrests,” a spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday morning. | Germany’s state prosecutor denied media reports that four “personal contacts” of the suspect Anis Amri had been arrested during the police operation. “We are not aware of any arrests,” a spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday morning. |
| Amri, 24, is thought to have temporarily stayed at the Dortmund apartment which the German police raided around 6.30am. In Berlin, police raided flats in the city’s Kreuzberg, Moabit and Prenzlauer Berg districts at 4am. | Amri, 24, is thought to have temporarily stayed at the Dortmund apartment which the German police raided around 6.30am. In Berlin, police raided flats in the city’s Kreuzberg, Moabit and Prenzlauer Berg districts at 4am. |
| 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 been able to carry out Monday’s attack in spite of having been under covert surveillance for several months and known to multiple intelligence agencies for apparent ties to Islamic extremists. | Germany’s security services are facing mounting pressure to explain how Amri could have been able to carry out Monday’s attack in spite of having been under covert surveillance for several months and known to multiple intelligence agencies for apparent ties to Islamic extremists. |
| A deputy chairman of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic party accused German intelligence agencies of incompetence, saying Wednesday’s reports on security failures had left him “shocked”. | A deputy chairman of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic party accused German intelligence agencies of incompetence, saying Wednesday’s reports on security failures had left him “shocked”. |
| Having first registered in the North-Rhine Westphalia region upon entering Germany in July 2015, suspect Amri had been based mainly in Berlin since February this year, and 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 morning. The lawmaker called for better coordination between security agencies across Germany’s federal state system. | “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 morning. The lawmaker called for better coordination between security agencies across Germany’s federal state system. |
| A European arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday for Amri, a Tunisian citizen, two days after the attack in which at least 12 people were killed and dozens of others were injured. Amri is feared to be armed and dangerous, and appears to have used six different aliases and three different nationalities. | A European arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday for Amri, a Tunisian citizen, two days after the attack in which at least 12 people were killed and dozens of others were injured. Amri is feared to be armed and dangerous, and appears to have used six different aliases and three different nationalities. |
| According to a senior politician in North-Rhine Westphalia, where Amri registered as an asylum seeker in in July 2015, an investigation was launched earlier this year into suspicions he might be preparing “a serious act of violence against the state”. He was added to the government’s central terror watchlist in January and his telecommunications were under surveillance until September. | |
| US officials said Amri was on a US no-fly list, had researched bomb-making online and 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 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 he allegedly drove into a crowd of people at the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market. | German authorities said they had found Amri’s identity card under the driver’s seat of the truck he allegedly drove into a crowd of people at the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market. |
| A wanted poster issued by Germany’s federal prosecutor offered a reward of up to €100,000 (£85,000) for members of the public who helped to locate Amri, who is described as having worn dark clothing, bright shoes and a white scarf on Monday night. | A wanted poster issued by Germany’s federal prosecutor offered a reward of up to €100,000 (£85,000) for members of the public who helped to 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 Amri 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 Anis may have been radicalised in prison in Italy, where he went after leaving Tunisia in the wake of the Arab spring uprisings. | Tunisian authorities have reportedly questioned Amri’s parents. His brother Abdelkader Amri 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 Anis may have been radicalised in prison in Italy, where he went after leaving Tunisia in the wake of the Arab spring uprisings. |
| The news that Amri is a suspect again raises difficult questions for the authorities. It follows an admission by German police that they had 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. | The news that Amri is a suspect again raises difficult questions for the authorities. It follows an admission by German police that they had 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, who had his request for asylum turned down in July this year, was already known to several security agencies because of his links to the radical Islamist scene, according to Ralf Jäger, the interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia. | 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 the radical Islamist scene, according to Ralf Jäger, the interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia. |
| An investigation had been launched into whether Amri was preparing “a serious act of violence against the state”, Jäger said. | |
| 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 Germany’s state prosecutor of openly supporting Islamic State and helping to recruit people for the terror 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 Germany’s state prosecutor of openly supporting Islamic State and helping to recruit people for the terror 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. |
| Germany’s 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. | Germany’s 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 this year. 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 this year. 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 piece that in future such suspects had to be locked up and not allowed “to roam free”. | The best-selling Bild tabloid said in a commentary piece that in future such suspects had to be locked up and not allowed “to roam free”. |