Share

Germany: Syrian asylum seeker kills woman with machete

But Mayer told the BBC that the 1.1 million migrants and refugees Germany let in past year represented a “big challenge” for law enforcement, even as the influx has dwindled in recent months.

Advertisement

On Sunday, another Syrian refugee killed a woman and injured two others in a knife attack. The bomber, a 27-year-old Syrian national who was known to police, was killed, Hermann said.

Four of the 15 victims suffered serious injuries in the blast.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told a separate press conference in Nuremberg on Monday that a video was found in the attacker’s mobile phone.

Plate told reporters that the first deportation notice was issued on December 22, 2014, but it wasn’t clear why he hadn’t been deported then.

In January, Bavaria’s justice minister launched a state program in Ansbach meant to teach refugees the basics of law in their new host country.

Authorities on Monday morning raided the asylum shelter where he lived in the suburbs of Ansbach and searched his room.

One resident said he had occasionally drunk coffee with the attacker and they had discussed religion. The bomber, who was killed, had reportedly pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State terror group.

“It is new for me to feel this way”, she said, as translated from Hebrew. “But I think he had some issues because, you know, he told lies so often without any reason, and I understand that he wants to be in the centre of (attention), you know, he needed (attention)”, Khodadadi said.

Asked whether the bomber might have links to the Islamic State group, Herrmann said that couldn’t be ruled out, though there was no concrete evidence yet.

They were trying to find out if the attacker had help making the bomb and whether it exploded prematurely, which could suggest he wanted to kill as many people as possible.

Police spokeswoman Elke Schoenwald said he was refused entry to the concert because he didn’t have a ticket. The bomber blew himself up at around 10:15 p.m., during Meyle’s set.

About 2,000 people were evacuated from the nearby, open-air music festival, the BBC reported. It was shut down as a precaution after the explosion.

Bavarian public broadcaster Bayerische Rundfunk reported that about 200 police officers and 350 rescue personnel were brought in following the explosion in Ansbach. As CNN reports, Horst Seehofer, the current premier of Bavaria, described the situation in Germany following the explosion as “days of horror”.

The attack was carried out by “one of the soldiers of the Islamic State”, the extremist group said. According to Schaal, authorities have been unable to identify the victim as she was carrying no papers or identification and investigators have been unable to locate or contact any of her relatives.

On Friday, nine people died during a shooting rampage in Munich and a week ago, several people were hurt during an ax attack on board a train in Wurzberg.

Two attacks came on Monday alone – including a Syrian refugee who blew himself up at a music festival – following a shooting spree on Saturday in Munich that left 10 dead and an axe attack last week.

Meanwhile, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Amaq, a news agency that supports Islamic State, reports AFP.

Europe has been on edge for months after a string of deadly attacks claimed by IS, including bombings in Brussels and Paris and the carnage at Bastille Day celebrations in the southern French city of Nice.

Twelve people were wounded in the attack. Police said that he had planned the attack for a year.

Chief prosecutor Thomas Steinkraus-Koch said that, in his interview with police on Friday, the teen had deleted a Whatsapp chat log of his conversations with the attacker.

Advertisement

In Munich, meanwhile, authorities said Monday that a 16-year-old Afghan friend of the gunman who carried out the mall attack may have known of the assailant’s plan in advance. He also knew the attacker had a pistol. He had received psychiatric care at the local district hospital. Both were being treated for online game addiction, among other things.

German restaurant explosion: Police suspect gas detonation in Ansbach