German officials are seeking a Tunisian asylum-seeker in connection with Berlin’s Christmas market attack on Monday, which killed 12. He is considered the prime suspect. From the Washington Post:
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive case, said investigators discovered the man’s documents in the cabin of the truck that barreled into the market on Monday, killing 12 people, wounding dozens and reigniting debates about security and immigration.
One of the two officials said the man, in his early 20s, had left his wallet in the vehicle, and his asylum documents were found inside.
The Post also reports that the suspect, born in the Tunisian town of Tataouine, had been granted a “toleration” status that allowed him to stay in the country legally without being granted full asylum. “Bild reported that the suspect was known by the police for alleged physical assault,” the Post’s Anthony Faiola and Stephanie Kirchner write additionally, “but was never charged, because he had disappeared.”
A suspect arrested on the night of the attack was later released due to insufficient evidence.
ISIS dubiously claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday. “The Associated Press reports that the terror group released a statement via its Amaq news agency late Tuesday claiming that the driver of the truck that plowed into the crowd ‘is a soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the attack in response to calls for targeting citizens of the Crusader coalition,’” our Josh Voorhees wrote. “Notably, however, the group offered no other details about the driver, nor did it specify whether it was claiming that he or she had been in direct contact with the group, or was simply sympathetic to it.”
