Published 20:04 IST, October 24th 2019
Berlin Market attacker took selfie near Angela Merkel's house: Report
Anis Amri, who hijacked a truck and drove it into a crowded Berlin Christmas market reportedly took a selfie in front of Chancellor Angela Markel's apartment
Anis Amri, who hijacked a truck and drove it into a crowded Berlin Christmas market reportedly took a selfie in front of Chancellor Angela Markel's apartment weeks before the attack. According to international media, the photo was found in Amri's phone, however, it is still uncertain whether the image circulating that shows Amri posing in a hooded black jacket, indicates that the Tunisian asylum seeker had planned to target Merkel. A leaked police assessment seen by a Russian media house reported that the picture was taken almost seven weeks before the Christmas market assault.
Amri's phone also contained other photos of the upscale Berlin-Mitte borough where Merkel and her husband live. According to the police, file notes that Amri could have been surveilling the area, which also includes Berlin Cathedral. The Greens lawmaker Konstantin von Notz has reportedly criticized federal police for not explicitly mentioning the photo in their final report. He told the media that it irritates the authorities very much that not even the possibility of the chancellor's house could have been affected is mentioning the photo in their files. He further added that the security authorities will be questioned and will be asked to explain.
The most deadly attack that was committed in 2016 by the 23-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri, reportedly killed 12 people. The accused had stolen a truck and ploughed it through a Berlin Christmas market. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Germany's domestic security watchdog, warned earlier this year of increased risk by the IS fighters returning from Syria and northern Iraq. It was also reported last week in neighbouring France that a Muslim convert had supposedly adopted radical beliefs stabbed four colleagues to death at Paris police headquarters.
Germany on high alert
Another accident that took place earlier this month where several people got injured when a stolen truck reportedly rammed into nine cars in the German city of Limburg. The owner of the truck reported that the man who stole his truck was probably in his 30s with short dark hair and a full beard. The passers-by also told an international media outlet that when the man emerged from the crash, they provided him with first-aid. They claimed that the driver said 'Allah' several times and spoke Arabic. The police urged social media users not to jump to conclusions, however, it is believed to be another attack by the IS group. Since the accident, Germany has been on high alert.
Updated 22:46 IST, October 24th 2019