Daesh Claims Responsibility for Berlin Market Attack
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group claimed responsibility late on Tuesday for a truck attack on a crowded Berlin Christmas market that left 12 people dead and nearly 50 injured, as German security forces hunted for the perpetrator after releasing a man from custody for lack of evidence.
Daesh said in a statement from its Amaq news agency that the attacker “in Berlin is a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the attack in response to calls for targeting citizens of the Crusader coalition.”
Germany is not involved in anti-Daesh combat operations, but has Tornado jets and a refueling plane stationed in Turkey in support of the coalition fighting militants in Syria, as well as a frigate protecting a French aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, among other assets.
The claim of responsibility came not long after German prosecutors said they’d released a man picked up Monday night near the scene of the attack, initially suspected of driving the truck. The man, a Pakistani citizen who came to Germany last year, had been picked up based on a description of a suspect who jumped out of the truck and fled.
But federal prosecutors said late Tuesday that he denied any involvement and they had found no forensic evidence proving he was in the cab during the rampage.
Federal Criminal Police Office chief Holger Muench and other officials had expressed doubt earlier that the man in custody was driving the truck at the time of the attack. Muench also said police haven’t yet found a pistol authorities believe was used to kill a Polish truck driver who was supposed to be delivering the steel beams the truck was carrying.
Berlin police, meanwhile, urged people to remain “particularly vigilant” and report “suspicious movements” to a special hotline.
“We may still have a dangerous criminal out there,” Berlin police chief Klaus Kandt said.
Before Daesh claimed responsibility, Germany’s top prosecutor, Peter Frank, told reporters the attack on the market outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was reminiscent of July’s deadly truck attack in Nice and appeared to follow instructions published by the militant group, AP reported.
Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted the attack cannot change Germans’ way of life.
“Twelve people who were still among us yesterday, who were looking forward to Christmas, who had plans for the holidays, aren’t among us anymore,” she said in an emotional, nationally televised statement before heading to the scene of the attack in downtown Berlin.
