Islamic State claims truck attack on Berlin market
Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for a truck attack on a crowded Berlin Christmas market that left 12 people dead and nearly 50 injured, writes Karen O’Shea.
The news came as German security forces hunt for the perpetrator of the attack after releasing a man from custody due to a lack of evidence.
IS 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-IS combat operations, but has Tornado jets and a refuelling 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.
The claim of responsibility came not long after German prosecutors said they had released a man arrested on 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.
However, federal prosecutors said 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 said police have not yet found a pistol authorities believe was used to kill a truck driver who was supposed to be delivering the steel beams the truck was carrying.
Meanwhile, Imam Shaykh Dr Umar al-Qadri, head imam at the Islamic Cultural Centre Ireland and chairman of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council, has said extremism is a psychological phenomenon, not a religious one, and atrocities are being committed in the name of Islam.
He said Islam strictly prohibits killing any non-combatant in a war situation and that the only justification for war is for defence.
