German Minister: Suspect arrested in Christmas market attack was clearly Islamophobic
MAGDEBURG, Germany – The suspect arrested in connection with a deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg was Islamophobic, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters on Saturday.
“This was clear to see,” Faeser said.
At least five people were killed in a car-ramming attack at a German Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg that also left more than 200 injured, officials said, and a Saudi man was arrested on suspicion of driving a car into the crowd.
German authorities are investigating a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who has lived in Germany for almost two decades. His identity remains unclear, and was referred to as Taleb A in German media.
A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views on his personal X account that threatened peace and security.
Der Spiegel reported that the suspect had sympathised with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The magazine did not say where it got the information.
Germany’s FAZ newspaper said it interviewed the suspect in 2019, describing him as an anti-Islam activist.
“I am history’s most aggressive critic of Islam. If you don’t believe me, ask the Arabs,” he was quoted as saying.
Earlier in the day, Chancellor Olaf Scholz went to Magdeburg to voice his sympathy and support for the victims, calling on the nation to stand together against hate.
“What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people there with such brutality,” Scholz said. “Almost 40 are so seriously injured that we must be very worried about them.”
The Friday evening attack on market visitors gathered to celebrate the pre-Christmas season comes amid a fierce debate over security and migration during an election campaign in Germany, where the far right is polling strongly.
Scholz’s Social Democrats are trailing both the far-right AfD and the leading conservative opposition in opinion polls ahead of the snap elections scheduled for February 23.
