Germany: Tunisian contact of Berlin attacker arrested

German prosecutors say they’ve detained a Tunisian man they think may have been involved in last week’s truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin.

German prosecutors say they’ve detained a Tunisian man they think may have been involved in last week’s truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin.

This photo taken on December 23 shows Walid Amri (back), the brother of 24-year-old Anis Amri, the suspected Berlin truck attacker, posing with a portrait of his brother Anis in front of the family house in the town of Oueslatia, in Tunisia's region of Kairouan. German police on December 28, 2016 detained a Tunisian national on suspicion of having ties to Anis Amri, the suspected Berlin truck attacker gunned down by Italian police, prosecutors said. (AFP)

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday the 40-year-old was detained during a search of his home and business.

They said that the man’s number was saved in the cellphone of Anis Amri, a fellow Tunisian believed to have driven a truck into the market on Dec. 19, and that “further investigations indicate that he may have been involved in the attack.”

Twelve people died in the attack.

Prosecutors have until Thursday evening to determine whether the case against the man holds up to the extent they can seek a formal arrest warrant. That would allow them to keep him in custody pending possible charges.

Read: Anis Amri: The man who turned from small-time criminal to the Berlin killer