Germany Christmas Market Attack – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net Stay Connected. Stay Informed. Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:56:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://artifexnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cropped-Artifex-Round-32x32.png Germany Christmas Market Attack – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net 32 32 Germany To Probe Possible Security Lapses Before Christmas Market Attack https://artifexnews.net/germany-to-probe-possible-security-lapses-before-christmas-market-attack-7309509/ Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:56:58 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/germany-to-probe-possible-security-lapses-before-christmas-market-attack-7309509/ Read More “Germany To Probe Possible Security Lapses Before Christmas Market Attack” »

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Berlin:

The German government pledged Sunday to fully investigate whether there were security lapses before the Christmas market car-ramming attack that killed five people and injured over 200.

Political pressure has built on the question of potential missed warnings about Saudi suspect Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old psychiatrist who had made online deaths threats and previously had trouble with the law.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and the heads of Germany’s domestic and foreign intelligence services are due to answer questions at parliamentary committee hearings on December 30, a senior lawmaker told AFP.

Faeser vowed Sunday that “no stone will be left unturned” in shedding light on what information had been available to security services ahead of last Friday’s bloody attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg.

She stressed that the attacker did “not fit any previous pattern” because “he acted like an Islamist terrorist although ideologically he was clearly an enemy of Islam”.

Abdulmohsen has in the past called himself a “Saudi atheist” who helped women flee Gulf countries and charged Germany was doing too little to help them.

In online posts, he also strongly criticised Germany for allowing in too many Muslim refugees and backed far-right conspiracy theories about the “Islamisation” of Europe.

In one post, he wrote: “Is there a path to justice in Germany without blowing up a German embassy or randomly slaughtering German citizens?… If anyone knows it, please let me know.”

News magazine Der Spiegel, citing security sources, said the Saudi secret service had warned Germany’s spy agency BND a year ago about a tweet in which Abdulmohsen threatened Germany would pay a “price” for how it treated Saudi refugees.

Die Welt daily reported, also citing security sources, that German state and federal police had carried out a “risk assessment” on Abdulmohsen last year but concluded that he posed “no specific danger”.

“Blood and screams”

The city of Magdeburg has been in deep mourning over the mass carnage on Friday evening, when an SUV smashed through a crowd at its Christmas market, killing four women and a nine-year-old child and injuring 205 people.

Surgeons at overwhelmed hospitals have worked around the clock, and one health worker told local media of “blood on the floor everywhere, people screaming, lots of painkillers being administered”.

Scholz on Saturday condemned the “terrible, insane” attack and made a call for national unity, at a time Germany is headed for early elections on February 23.

But as German media dug into Abdulmohsen’s past, and investigators gave away little, criticism rained down from opposition parties.

Conservative CDU lawmaker Alexander Throm charged that “many citizens feel… that the Scholz government has completely failed in terms of internal security”.

He demanded greater police powers to monitor and analyse data from social media platforms, telecommunications and surveillance cameras with facial recognition technology.

The far-right AfD called for a special session of parliament, and the head of the far-left BSW party, Sahra Wagenknecht, demanded that Faeser explain “why so many tips and warnings were ignored beforehand”.

Mass-circulation daily Bild asked: “Why did our police and intelligence services do nothing, even though they had the Saudi on their radar?… And why were the tips from Saudi Arabia apparently ignored?”

It charged that “German authorities usually only find out about attack plans in time when foreign services warn them” and called for sweeping reforms after the election for a complete “turnaround in internal security”.

Senior MP Dirk Wiese of Scholz’s Social Democrats said the December 30 hearings will summon the heads of the BND, the domestic intelligence service BfV and the Office for Migration and Refugees.

“Ultra-right conspiracy ideologies”

Media meanwhile reported more details on Abdulmohsen, who had worked at a clinic that treats offenders with substance addiction problems, but had been on sick leave since late October.

Der Spiegel reported that in 2013 a court fined him for “disturbing the public peace by threatening to commit crimes” after he had darkly referenced the deadly attack on the Boston marathon.

The chairwoman of the group Central Council of Ex-Muslims, Mina Ahadi, said Abdulmohsen “is no stranger to us, because he has been terrorising us for years”.

She labelled him “a psychopath who adheres to ultra-right conspiracy ideologies” and said he “doesn’t just hate Muslims, but everyone who doesn’t share his hatred.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)




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Christmas Market Attack Suspect Warned Of “Slaughtering” Germans: Report https://artifexnews.net/germany-christmas-market-attack-suspect-taleb-al-abdulmohsen-had-warned-of-slaughtering-germans-was-under-police-radar-7307561/ Sun, 22 Dec 2024 10:51:40 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/germany-christmas-market-attack-suspect-taleb-al-abdulmohsen-had-warned-of-slaughtering-germans-was-under-police-radar-7307561/ Read More “Christmas Market Attack Suspect Warned Of “Slaughtering” Germans: Report” »

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Berlin:

The Saudi man– identified as 50-year-old psychiatrist Taleb al-Abdulmohsen– has been remanded in custody for driving a car into a German Christmas market in an attack, that killed at least five people and injured over 200 others, on charges of murder and attempted murder, police said on Sunday. The suspect, an anti-Islam activist, is a residence status in Germany, where he has been living for almost two decades.

Several media reports highlighted that the suspect attacker had made online death threats against German citizens in the past and had a history of quarrelling with state authorities. According to a report by the magazine Der Spiegel, the Saudi secret service had warned Germany’s spy agency BND a year ago about a tweet in which Abdulmohsen threatened Germany would pay a “price” for its treatment of Saudi refugees.

Later in August, Abdulmohsen wrote on social media: “Is there a path to justice in Germany without blowing up a German embassy or randomly slaughtering German citizens?… If anyone knows it, please let me know.”

However, Die Welt daily reported, citing security sources, that German state and federal police had carried out a “risk assessment” on Abdulmohsen last year but concluded that he posed “no specific danger”.

Scholz Govt Faces Criticism

With German media digging into Abdulmohsen’s past, questions are being raised if the Chancellor Olaf Scholz-led government could have done more to prevent the Christmas market car-ramming attack. Mass-circulation German daily Bild asked: “Why did our police and intelligence services do nothing, even though they had the Saudi on their radar?… And why were the tips from Saudi Arabia apparently ignored?”

It charged that “German authorities usually only find out about attack plans in time when foreign services warn them” and called for sweeping reforms after the election for a complete “turnaround in internal security”.

Criticism also came from both the far-right and far-left parties already bitterly opposed to the Scholz government. Per a report by news agency AFP, the far-right AfD’s parliamentary head Bernd Baumann demanded Scholz call a special session of the Bundestag on the “desolate” security situation, arguing that “this is the least that we owe the victims”.

The head of the far-left BSW party, Sahra Wagenknecht, demanded that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser explain “why so many tips and warnings were ignored beforehand”.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Scholz has condemned the “terrible, insane” attack on Friday in the city of Magdeburg and made a call for national unity amid high political tensions as Germany heads towards elections on February 23.

German Christmas Market Attack

A driver rammed a car into a large crowd of revellers at a Christmas market in central Germany on Friday evening, killing five people and injuring some 205, of which 40 remain critical. The suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen was arrested at the scene next to the heavily damaged car. A magistrate ordered him into pretrial custody after prosecutors pressed charges of murder on five counts, multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, according to a police statement.

Authorities said on Saturday the motive was not clear. However, the Magdeburg prosecutor, Horst Nopens, said one possible factor could be what he called the suspect’s frustration with Germany’s handling of Saudi refugees, according to a Reuters report.

About The Suspect

In an unpublished interview with AFP from 2022, Abdulmohsen reportedly referred to himself as “a Saudi atheist”. As an activist, he reportedly helped women flee Gulf countries and have in the past complained that German authorities were not doing enough to help them.

At the same time, he has criticised the entry of other Muslim migrants and war refugees to Germany and backed conspiracy theories about the planned “Islamisation” of Europe. A harsh critic of Germany’s past welcome to many Muslim migrants, he wrote on X that he wished ex-chancellor Angela Merkel could be jailed for life or executed.

In previous brushes with the law, he was first fined by a court in the city of Rostock in 2013 for “disturbing the public peace by threatening to commit crimes”, according to Der Spiegel. This year he was investigated in Berlin for the “misuse of emergency calls” after arguing with police at a station in Berlin.

He had been on sick leave since late October from his workplace, a clinic near Magdeburg that treats offenders with substance addiction problems. The chairwoman of the group Central Council of Ex-Muslims, Mina Ahadi, said that the Saudi suspect “is no stranger to us because he has been terrorising us for years”.

She labelled him “a psychopath who adheres to ultra-right conspiracy ideologies” and said he “doesn’t just hate Muslims, but everyone who doesn’t share his hatred,” according to the AFP report.




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Seven Indians among around 200 injured in German Christmas market attack https://artifexnews.net/article69013885-ece/ Sat, 21 Dec 2024 20:45:48 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/article69013885-ece/ Read More “Seven Indians among around 200 injured in German Christmas market attack” »

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, centre, walks over a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, on December 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Seven Indians have been injured in the deadly car-ramming attack in the eastern German city of Magdeburg and the Indian embassy in Berlin is providing them all possible assistance, official sources said on Saturday (December 21, 2024) night.

A 50-year-old man drove his car into crowds at a Christmas market on Friday evening in Saxony-Anhalt state’s Magdeburg, leaving at least five people, including a nine-year-old, dead and nearly 200 injured, according to German authorities.

Three out of seven injured Indians have been discharged from hospital, the Indian government sources said.

Condemning the “horrific and senseless” attack, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Indian mission in Germany is in contact with the Indians injured. It, however, did not specify the number of Indians injured.

In a post on X, the Indian embassy in Berlin said it is maintaining close contact with the Indians injured in the attack.

In a statement, the MEA said the Indian mission is rendering all possible assistance to the Indians injured in the incident.

“We condemn the horrific and senseless attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. “Several precious lives have been lost and many have been injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims.” “Our Mission is in contact with Indians who are injured, as well as their families, and rendering all possible assistance,” the MEA said in a statement.

Local law enforcement authorities said the 50-year-old man, who drove the car into the crowd, has been arrested.

The man reportedly hails from Saudi Arabia and he has been living in Germany since 2006.

Senior prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said the motive for the attack remains unclear, but the suspect’s dissatisfaction with Germany’s treatment of Saudi refugees may have played a role, according to German Broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited Magdeburg on Saturday.



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Saudi Suspect In German Christmas Market Attack Held Strongly Anti-Islam Views: Report https://artifexnews.net/what-was-christmas-market-attack-suspects-possible-motive-officer-says-7302914/ Sat, 21 Dec 2024 15:58:03 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/what-was-christmas-market-attack-suspects-possible-motive-officer-says-7302914/ Read More “Saudi Suspect In German Christmas Market Attack Held Strongly Anti-Islam Views: Report” »

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Magdeburg, Germany:

The Saudi suspect in Germany’s deadly car-ramming attack on a Christmas market held strongly anti-Islam views and was angry with Germany’s migrant policy, official said Saturday.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the “terrible, insane” attack that killed five people and shocked the nation, days before Christmas and eight years after a jihadist drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin. 

Police were puzzling over the motive of Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, the top suspect after an SUV ploughed at high speed through a dense crowd Friday, also injuring 205 people in the eastern city of Magdeburg.

The mass carnage sparked sorrow and revulsion, with a nine-year-old child among the dead and casualties being treated in 15 regional hospitals.

Germany has been hit by multiple deadly jihadist attacks, but evidence gathered by investigators and his past online posts painted a different picture of Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old doctor of psychiatry.

A self-described “Saudi atheist” who as an activist helped women flee the oil-rich kingdom, he has railed against Islam but also against what he saw as Germany’s permissive attitude towards refugees from other mainly Muslim countries.

Interior Minister Nancy Fraser said he held “Islamophobic” views, and a prosecutor said that “the background to the crime… could have been disgruntlement with the way Saudi Arabian refugees are treated in Germany”.

Taha Al-Hajji of the Berlin-based European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights told AFP Abdulmohsen was “a psychologically disturbed person with an exaggerated sense of self-importance”. 

Call for unity

Abdulmohsen in his online posts spoke about his troubles with and suspicions of German authorities.

Last August, he posted on social media: “Is there a path to justice in Germany without blowing up a German embassy or randomly slaughtering German citizens? … If anyone knows it, please let me know.”

Die Welt daily reported, citing security sources, that German state and federal police had carried out a “risk assessment” on him last year but concluded that he posed “no specific danger”. 

A sombre Scholz, dressed in black, visited the attack site Saturday together with national and regional politicians laying flowers outside the main church in Magdeburg.

Mourning and bereaved residents have left candles, flowers, cards and children’s toys at the Johanneskirche church, where a memorial service was planned at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT).

Scholz pledged the state would respond “with the full force of the law” to the attack but also called for unity as Germany has been rocked by a heated debate on immigration and security ahead of elections in February.

The centre-left chancellor said it was important “that we stick together, that we link arms, that it is not hatred that determines our coexistence but the fact that we are a community that seeks a common future.”

He said he was grateful for expressions of “solidarity… from many, many countries around the world. It is good to hear that we as Germans are not alone in the face of this terrible catastrophe.”

‘Sad and shocked’

Surveillance video footage of the attack showed a black BMW racing straight through the crowd, scattering bodies amid the festive stalls that were selling traditional handicrafts, snacks and mulled wine.

On Saturday, debris and discarded medical materials blew across the cordoned-off site, where stalls now stand empty around a giant Christmas tree, the event cancelled for the year out of respect for the victims.

The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, which has focused on jihadist attacks in its campaign against immigrants, wrote on X: “When will this madness stop?”

“What happened today affects a lot of people. It affects us a lot,” Fael Kelion, a 27-year-old Cameroonian living in the city, told AFP.

“I think that since (the suspect) is a foreigner, the population will be unhappy, less welcoming.”

Michael Raarig, 67 and an engineer, said that “I am sad, I am shocked. I never would have believed this could happen, here in an east German provincial town.”

He added that he believed the attack “will play into the hands of the AfD” which has had its strongest support in the formerly communist eastern Germany.

Security was stepped up Saturday at Christmas markets elsewhere in Germany with more police seen in Hamburg, Leipzig and other cities.

German footballers were holding a minute’s silence and wearing black armbands in weekend matches in tribute to the victims.

The regional Evangelical church announced that at 7:03 p.m. (1803 GMT) “the time of yesterday’s attack on the Christmas market, the bells of all churches in Magdeburg and many places of worship in the surrounding area will ring”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)




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