Terror suspect investigated in Solingen for terrorist connections – DW – 25.08.2024

The investigation into a man suspected of carrying out fatal knife attacks at a folk festival in the western German city of Solingen is now in the hands of the federal prosecutor's office on suspicion of terrorism, a police spokesman said on Sunday.

The extremist terrorist organization “Islamic State” (IS) claimed responsibility for the attacks on Friday evening, in which three people died and eight were injured. The Federal Prosecutor's Office is now investigating whether a suspect who turned himself in on Saturday evening has any links to the terrorist organization.

The suspect, a 26-year-old Syrian, has admitted responsibility for the attack, police said. He is currently being questioned. Mirror reported that the suspect came to Germany as a refugee in 2022 and applied for asylum in the city of Bielefeld.

According to the news agency dpa, the man's asylum application was rejected and he should have been deported last year. The agency did not cite any sources for its information.

The suspect comes from a refugee home in Solingen that was searched on Saturday, said Herbert Reul, interior minister of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Solingen is located.

Accordingly MirrorThe suspect will be taken to the southern German city of Karlsruhe on Sunday to appear before the Federal Court of Justice, the highest civil and criminal court in Germany. A judge at the court will then decide on the conditions of his pre-trial detention, the magazine reported.

Random stabbings at the “Festival of Diversity”

The attacks took place in front of a music stage during an event marking the city's 650-year history on Solingen's market square.

Two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman were killed by the knife-wielding attacker, who also injured eight other people, four of them seriously. The seriously injured are said to be on the road to recovery after treatment in nearby hospitals, it was said on Sunday.

The attacker fled undetected amid the panic caused by the attacks. According to police, the perpetrators deliberately aimed for the victims' throats.

On Saturday, IS claimed responsibility for the attack on its news site, but provided no evidence. The extremist group said an “Islamic State soldier” committed the crimes “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere else.”

The claim has not been verified.

German authorities said they had also arrested a 15-year-old boy on suspicion that he knew about the planned attack and failed to inform the authorities.

Demand for stricter knife laws

In view of the increasing number of knife crimes in Germany, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck called for stricter knife laws after the attack.

“Nobody in Germany has to carry a knife in a public place,” said the Green politician on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), adding that “Islamic terrorism” is one of “the greatest security threats” for Germany.

The incident in Solingen is likely to further fuel anti-immigration sentiment and xenophobia in parts of German society and may also increase support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of elections next week in the eastern German states of Thuringia and Saxony, where the party already enjoys considerable popularity.

tj/nm (AP, dpa, Reuters)

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