Germany Christmas market attack: Minister says suspect 'an Islamophobe'

The suspect has been identified as 50-year-old Taleb A. He was arrested after he rammed his BMW into a crowded Christmas market, killing at least five.

Updated on: Dec 21, 2024, 21:25:31 IST

By HT News Desk

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The suspect who was arrested in Germany for ramming his car into a crowd in Magdeburg's Christmas market was an "Islamophobe", the country's government said on Saturday. Five people were killed in the attack and 200 were injured.

Policemen guard a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg. (AP)

Germany's interior minister Nancy Faeser said that she can now confirm that the suspect was an “Islamophobe”, reported Reuters.

German authorities are investigating a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who has lived in Germany for almost two decades in connection with the car-ramming.

The motive remained unclear. He has been named in German media as Taleb A.

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.

"What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people there with such brutality," Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in the central city, part of the former East Germany, where he laid a white rose at a church in honour of the victims.

"We have now learnt that over 200 people have been injured," he added. "Almost 40 are so seriously injured that we must be very worried about them."

Germany's FAZ newspaper said it interviewed the suspect in 2019, describing him as an anti-Islam activist.

"People like me, who have an Islamic background but are no longer believers, are met with neither understanding nor tolerance by Muslims here," he was quoted as saying. "I am history's most aggressive critic of Islam. If you don't believe me, ask the Arabs."

Also read: Germany: Saudi doctor arrested for Christmas market car 'attack' in Magdeburg. Who is the suspect?

What we know about the suspect

According to AFP, the suspect has been identified as 50-year-old Taleb A. He is a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist. He has been living in Germany for over two decades.

He was arrested after he rammed his BMW into a crowded Christmas market.

Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim, reported AFP.

He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”

(With inputs from Reuters, AFP)

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HT News Desk
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