“Given that he had a backpack with explosives which also had many sharp-edged pieces of metal packed inside – which would be the case with a bomb meant to injure as many people as possible in the surrounding area – we must assume that this was not purely an act of suicide but rather that he wanted to bring disaster to as many people as possible”, said the minister.
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A Syrian who had been denied asylum in Germany a year ago died on Sunday when a bomb he was carrying exploded outside a music festival in Ansbach.
The incident comes as Germany reels from Friday’s Munich massacre that left nine dead and 27 injured and a terrorist axe attack on a Bavaria train last Monday that left two people fighting for their lives.
A man was killed and eleven others were injured in an explosion outside a wine bar in Franconia Ansbach late on Sunday..
Police confirmed 12 people were injured in the explosion, three of them seriously. The minister said authorities were still investigating if the blast was an act of terrorism.
Ansbach police could not immediately be reached for further comment.
German police said they had been keeping track of the suspect for crimes in the past and he previously attempted to commit suicide.
The three-day open-air concert was underway, with about 2,500 in attendance, when it was shut down as a precaution after the explosion.
Germany’s NTV television reported that officials suspected the explosion was caused by a gas leak.
Pictures from the scene showed forensic police sealing off the area and erecting a tent over the white BMW.
Police said the machete attack happened after the perpetrator “had a dispute” with a 45-year-old Polish woman.
Michael Schrotberger, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office in Ansbach, said his motives remained unclear. The 21-year-old Syrian asylum seeker came to Germany one year ago, according to a police statement, and he was known to police for property thefts and assault.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the July 18 ax attack in Germany.
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Four days before, a Tunisian delivery man drove a large truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French Riviera city of Nice, killing 84 people.
