BERLIN, Dec 20:
A Pakistani asylum seeker allegedly rammed a large truck into a crowded Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing at least 12 people and injuring nearly 50 others as German Chancellor Angela Merkel today pledged the harshest punishment for the “terror” attack.
The truck, bearing a Polish number plate and laden with steel girds, rammed into the traditional Christmas market in front of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, one of the main landmarks of the city, shortly after 8 pm (local time) as hundreds of people were milling around the shops and stands.
The vehicle rolled about 50 to 80 metres into the market area at the major public square Breitscheidplatz popular with tourists, hitting a number of visitors and demolishing several shops.
At least 12 people were killed and 48 others injured, including 18 seriously as the driver mounted the pavement , crushing people and triggering panic, in gory scenes reminiscent of the July 14 Nice attack.
Police said the black Scania truck belonged to a Polish transport company and they suspect it may have been stolen from a construction site.
Two persons were inside the driver’s cabin at time of the incident, police said, adding that while the driver jumped out of the vehicle after it came to a halt and fled from the scene, a body of a Polish national was found inside the truck.
The suspect, who was later apprehended by the police about 2 kms from the crash site, was identified as 23-year-old Naved B from Pakistan by BILD newspaper, that cited the information to investigator circles. The newspaper said he was reportedly registered as a refugee in Germany about a year ago.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere later confirmed that the suspect is Pakistani and had arrived in Germany on December 31, 2015, seeking asylum.
He, however, “denies the act”, de Maiziere told reporters. “We have no doubt that this terrible event was an attack.”
A little earlier, a visibly moved Merkel said authorities believe the deadly rampage was a “terrorist” attack likely committed by an asylum seeker.
“According to what we know, we have to assume this was a terrorist attack,” Merkel, dressed in black, told reporters.
“I know it will be especially hard for us to take if it is confirmed that the person who committed this attack sought protection and asylum in Germany,” she added.
The act would be punished “as hard as our laws require”, Merkel said.
Christmas markets in the city were shut for a day in respect for the victims, but de Maiziere said cancelling the markets or major events “would be wrong”.
The Interior Ministry said though the incident was an “attack”, there was no reason to close the country’s popular Christmas markets.
After a telephone conference between de Maiziere and his regional counterparts, the ministry said they agreed “that Christmas markets and other big events should continue to take place”.
“Regardless of what we may learn about the exact motives of the assailant, we must not let our free way of life to be taken from us,” the ministry said in a statement.
The haulage company that owns the truck said it lost contact with the vehicle some four hours prior to the attack. The Polish owner of the truck said he feared the vehicle may have been hijacked.
Ariel Zurawski also told TVN24 said he last spoke with the driver, his cousin, around noon who told him he was in Berlin and scheduled to unload in the morning. “They must have done something to my driver.”
German police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf told reporters: “We’ve had a description of the driver who was on the run at first. Because of this description, one suspect could be arrested. We are now investigating whether the arrested person is actually the driver of the truck.”
The suspect was reportedly known to police for minor crimes though there was no official confirmation regarding this.
Berlin police earlier said on Twitter: “Our investigators are working on the assumption that the truck was intentionally driven into the crowd at the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz.”
Federal prosecutors, who handle terrorism cases, took over the investigation, according to German Justice Minister Heiko Maas, who did not give further details in a tweet last night about the “shocking news” but said “we are mourning with the relatives” of the victims.
BILD posted a picture of a large truck with its windshield smashed out on the pavement alongside the market, scenes reminiscent of the Nice attack carried out by a Tunisian living in France that killed 86 people and was claimed by the ISIS.
In the latest attack, ambulances and heavily armed officers rushed to the area after the driver mounted the pavement with the speeding truck.
German authorities had already tightened the security precautions for the month-long Christmas markets in all major cities as they are considered “soft targets” for possible terrorist attacks.
De Maiziere had said in a TV interview that he would deliberately refrain from using the term “terror attack” to describe the bloodshed at this stage though “many things speak for that”.
“There is a psychological effect in the whole country of the choice of words here, and we want to be very, very cautious and operate close to the actual investigation results, not with speculation,” he said.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leaders blamed Merkel’s liberal asylum policy for the carnage in the country, that has been increasingly wary since two attacks in the southern state of Bavaria by asylum-seekers and claimed by the ISIS. (PTI)
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