Four brutal assaults in Ger-many’s south, three of which were carried out by asylum seekers, have rattled Germans and revived a backlash against Merkel’s decision previous year to open the borders to those fleeing war and persecution.
Advertisement
A patient shot a doctor Tuesday at a Berlin hospital, then turned the gun on himself, police in the German capital said.
A Syrian man who injured 15 people when he blew himself up in southern Germany – an attack claimed by Islamic State – called in a video for further attacks, USA monitoring group SITE reported, citing Islamic State’s Amaq news agency. Merkel’s aides were quick to point out that three of the four assailants arrived in Germany before the record influx that brought in more than one million refugees and migrants past year.
The shooting came with Germany already on edge after 4 brutal attacks in the south of the country.
A 27-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker set off a backpack laden with explosives and shrapnel Sunday night after being refused entry to a crowded music festival in the Bavarian city of Ansbach, killing himself and wounding 15 people.
“There is now no danger”, police said on Twitter.
The Ansbach attack was the third violent attack by refugees in Germany in the space of a week, with an Afghan asylum seeker from seriously injuring two people on a train near Wuerzberg in a knife and axe attack, and a Syrian refugee murdering a Polish woman with a machete in Reutlingen on Saturday.
“Those who abuse the right to hospitality must go back to their home countries – make no mistake about it”, Mr Strobl told Funke media group.
Advertisement
The extremist Islamic State group published a video early on Tuesday in which a man pledges allegiance to IS and vows Germany’s people “won’t be able to sleep peacefully anymore”. It appeared to be the same as the one found by German investigators on the suicide bomber’s phone. The spokeswoman talked on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.
