Truck plows into Berlin Christmas market

[Archy]

Curious for Trump's tweet.
Very difficult to close a Christmas market off to prevent such an attack if traffic has to pass.
In 2011 we had already an attack on a Christmas market in Liege (Lüttich for Germans) but with a gun man. This is already almost forgotten.

[Malicious Intent]

Number of dead has risen to 12. 

The attacker was allegedly an asylum seeker from Pakistan with a reputation as a small time criminal. No official confirmation yet, though. Police will probably hold a press conference at noon.

[Malicious Intent]

Curious for Trump's tweet.

Today there were terror attacks in Turkey, Switzerland and Germany - and it is only getting worse. The civilized world must change thinking!

[Delirium]

Disregarding the fact that the civilized world does not have a single way of thinking, what if he is right?

[Zanza]

The suspect is 23 years old and probably somehow forced the Polish truck driver to show him how to drive the truck. The Polish driver was found dead in the truck cabin.

[Malicious Intent]

Disregarding the fact that the civilized world does not have a single way of thinking, what if he is right?

Right with what? Three very different attacks happened, with different motives and victims. Berlin (from what little we know) sounds like your typical self-radicalized loser who randomly kills westerners for IS because his illusions about life in Germany were not instantly fulfilled. Ankara was a very selective killing to convey a specific political message. The Zürich attack was directed against praying muslims, but information is sparse otherwise. Possibly far right terrorism?

[Tamas]

Hungarian police is introducing such security measures (police presence on all Christmas markets, making truck traffic more restricted etc) as if the attack happened there.

Very prudent of them: latest polls showed that with the national referendum on "forced immigration" over, corruption has been movin up steadily on the list of people's concerns.
This ought to restore proper priorities!

[Legbiter]

Number of dead has risen to 12. 

The attacker was allegedly an asylum seeker from Pakistan with a reputation as a small time criminal.

Wir schaffen das!

[Solmyr]

And apparently the police just grabbed the first random brown-skinned guy and he may not be the attacker at all: https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article160462226/Berliner-Polizei-Wir-haben-den-falschen-Mann.html

[derspiess]

[Duque de Bragança]

And apparently the police just grabbed the first random brown-skinned guy and he may not be the attacker at all: https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article160462226/Berliner-Polizei-Wir-haben-den-falschen-Mann.html

Early reports indicated the police had been tipped off by a bystander who ran after the suspect for more than a kilometre so it is not "the first random brown-skinned guy".

Hero followed fleeing suspect

The suspect in the Berlin Christmas market truck rampage was arrested with the help of a witness who followed the man after he fled the scene on foot, a German newspaper reports. The respected Die Welt daily said the bystander saw the suspected driver jump out of the cab of the lorry. The anonymous witness then trailed the suspect for about two kilometres, while staying on the phone with police to keep them informed of his location. Officers were able to arrest the suspect near the Victory Column monument next to the city's Tiergarten park. "With the help of this witness we were able to catch the suspect," police spokesman Winfrid Wenzel was quoted as saying. "Such civil courage should serve as an encouragement today," he added. The newspaper said police knew the identity of the "brave witness", but believed he wished to remain anonymous. The suspect is an asylum seeker believed to be from Pakistan or Afghanistan who arrived in Germany via the so-called Balkans route in February, according to security sources cited by DPA news agency.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/truck-runs-into-christmas-market-in-berlin/news-story/cbc420fc13bbbd33c981447662cb4c2b

Scroll down to "Hero followed fleeing suspect"

[The Brain]

Isn't that a Van Morrison song?

[Duque de Bragança]

Daesh claims the attack

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38385961

Berlin attack: So-called Islamic State claims responsibility

The lorry attack at the Breitscheidplatz market left 12 people dead and 49 injured

So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it was behind Monday's lorry attack on a Berlin Christmas market, which left 12 people dead and 49 injured.
The group claimed the attack through its self-styled news agency.
Earlier, German prosecutors released the only suspect who had been held, citing insufficient evidence. He had been identified by media only as Pakistani national Naved B.
Officials suggested that a perpetrator or perpetrators might be on the run.

What we know
Before the man was released late on Tuesday, German officials said they could not be be sure if he was involved in the attack.
"We have to entertain the theory that the detainee might possibly not have been the perpetrator," federal prosecutor Peter Frank told reporters.
The style of attack and the target suggested Islamic extremism, he said.

Media captionBerlin resident Ibrahim Colak: "I saw whole bodies being twisted"
The man, 23, was captured in a park after reportedly fleeing the scene.
He is believed to have been known to police for minor crimes, but had no links to militant organisations.
He arrived in Germany on 31 December last year and his asylum application was still in progress.
The usual driver of the lorry, Polish citizen Lukasz Urban, was found dead on the passenger seat of the lorry, reportedly with gunshot and stab wounds to his body. No gun was recovered.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has vowed to punish those responsible for the attack "as harshly as the law requires".
Her open-door policy on migration, which saw 890,000 asylum seekers arrive in Germany last year, has divided the country, with critics calling it a security threat.

For Angela Merkel the legacy of the Berlin attack will be political.
It is not clear who the perpetrator was. But if it proves to be someone who came as a refugee she will face more pressure.
She has stuck to her welcoming policy towards refugees fleeing war and persecution, and a majority of Germans have continued to back her.
But Mrs Merkel's political opponents, notably the far right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), have attacked her again following the Berlin attack, saying she has compromised Germany's security by letting in people without knowing who they are.
It is a charge they will seek to press as Germany gears up for federal elections next year.
The AfD had surged in regional elections this year. But Germany's main parties have all said they will shun any question of sharing power with the AfD.
And Angela Merkel has seen her support rise in recent polls. It is why the issue of who carried out the Berlin attack is vital for Mrs Merkel and her vision of a free, open Germany.
Grey line
Mrs Merkel has expressed concern that the attacker might turn out to be an asylum seeker.
"I know that it would be particularly difficult for us all to bear if it turned out that the person who committed this act was someone who sought protection and asylum in Germany," she said.

[Valmy]

Yeah but they claim everything.

[mongers]

Yeah but they claim everything.

Last week they claimed responsibility for me not doing my homework; the dog was not amused.