Acts of terror in Germany and Turkey
ATRUCK rammed a crowded Christmas market in Berlin last night, killing 12 people and injuring nearly 50 as it smashed through tables and wooden stands. Police said a suspect, believed to be the driver, was arrested nearby and a passenger died as paramedics were treating him.
The popular Christmas market, outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, was filled with a mix of tourists and locals when the large Scania truck hurtled into it. Germany’s top security official said evidence pointed to an intentional act.
Police said early today that 48 people were in hospitals, some of them with serious injuries.
Mike Fox, visiting from Birmingham, England, said the truck missed him by about 3m. Fox said he helped people who appeared to have broken limbs, and that others were trapped under Christmas stands.
“You do what you can to help who you can.
“It happened so fast that there was nothing we could do to stop it – if we’d tried to stop it we would have been crushed,” he said.
The truck, loaded with steel beams, came to a halt on a pavement on one side of the market. It had just rammed a large stand called “Fascination Christmas,” tearing off one side and knocking down a large Christmas tree.
The 3m tree lay in the street, red and gold ornamental balls still attached to its limbs and a golden star at the top.
Holiday
The crash came less than a month after the US State Department called for caution in markets and other public places across Europe, saying extremist groups were focusing “on the holiday season and associated events.”
The Islamic State group and al-Qaida have both called on followers to use trucks in par- ticular to attack crowds.
On July 14, a truck plowed into Bastille Day revelers in Nice, France, killing 86 people.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack, which was carried out by a Tunisian living in France.
Following that attack there were calls to block off and better protect high-profile public gatherings, but there were no barriers around the Christmas market.
After the attack, dozens of ambulances lined the streets waiting to evacuate people, and heavily armed police patrolled.
Authorities on Twitter urged people to stay away from the area, saying they needed to keep the streets clear for rescue vehicles.
A suspect, who was believed to be the driver, was arrested about 2km away, near the Victory Column monument. The Polish owner of the truck said he feared the vehicle, driven by his cousin, may have been hijacked. Ariel Zurawski said he last spoke with the driver around noon, and the driver told him he was in Berlin and scheduled to unload today.
“They must have done something to my driver.”
In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the US was in contact with German officials and ready to help in the investigation and response.
US President-elect Donald Trump blamed Islamist terrorists and said Islamic extremists must be “eradicated from the face of the earth” and pledged to carry out that mission with all “freedom-loving partners.”
But German officials said it was too early to call the crash intentional.
“I don’t want to use the word ‘attack’ yet, although a lot speaks for it,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said.
“There is a psychological effect in the whole country of the choice of words here, and we want to be very, very cautious and operate close to the actual investigation results, not with speculation.” – ANA-Associated Press