Foreign Affairs
Berlin Police Launch Manhunt For Tunisian Refugee Suspect
A woman lays down a rose in remembrance of the attack's victims. (Jacob Bojesson/ TheDCNF)
BERLIN — A 23-year-old Tunisian man emerged as the primary suspect behind the Monday terror attack in Berlin, which killed 12 and injured 48.
The man, identified as Anis A., was born in the Tunisian city of Tataouine in 1992. A refugee, he applied for asylum in Germany in April, according to Suddeutsche Zeitung.
Identity documents left behind in the truck are the primary leads in the investigation. Another suspect was arrested early Wednesday morning but was quickly released. (RELATED: ISIS Officially Claims Responsibility For Berlin Christmas Market Terror Attack)
Die Welt reports the man uses several different identities and also goes by Ahmed A. He lives in Berlin but spends a lot of his time in the western state of North Reine Westphalia, where police are taking “imminent measures.” He is known by police from being part of Salafist circles in Germany.
Police originally detained a Pakistani man named Naved B. He was released Tuesday after no forensic evidence tied him to the attack. (RELATED: Berlin Police: We Caught The Wrong Person)
Berlin has ramped up security measures following the attack. Parts of the city center are still closed off for the public, with armed police officers patrolling the area.
The Christmas market where the attack took place remains closed to the public and Berliners are on edge.
“ISIS try to show that they’re here and it’s awful,”Konstantin Wendel, who works as tour guide at the church inside the market, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Five years ago, we didn’t have this threat.”
The otherwise vibrant Christmas market in Berlin was deserted Tuesday. (Jacob Bojesson/TheDCNF)
Police vans were lined up in central Berlin Tuesday night. (Jacob Bojesson/TheDCNF)
Wendel thinks the world-famous Christmas markets make for a prime target for Islamic State, as other churches are much harder to access for terrorists.
“There are always people at Christmas markets and they choose places where they have a crowd of people,” Wendel told TheDCNF. “There are a lot of churches that are guarded and that’s completely different. Two years ago, we didn’t have that situation. For example, the Dome of Berlin– it isn’t easy to bring your bags in there.”
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