2016 Berlin truck attack
| 2016 Berlin truck attack | |
|---|---|
Aftermath of the attack | |
Breitscheidplatz 2016 Berlin truck attack (Berlin) 2016 Berlin truck attack (Germany) | |
| Location | Breitscheidplatz, Berlin, Germany |
| Coordinates | 52°30′18″N 013°20′08″E / 52.50500°N 13.33556°E |
| Date | 19 December 2016 20:02 CET (UTC+01) |
| Target | Christmas market |
Attack type | Vehicle-ramming attack, truck hijacking, shooting, mass murder |
| Weapons |
|
| Deaths | 13 (including a victim who died in 2021) |
| Injured | 56[1] |
| Perpetrator | Islamic State[2] |
| Assailant | Anis Amri |
| Motive | Islamic terrorism and retaliation for German support of War against the Islamic State |
On 19 December 2016, a truck was deliberately driven into the Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, leaving 12 people dead and 56 others injured. One of the victims was the truck's original driver, Łukasz Urban, who was found shot dead in the passenger seat. The truck was eventually stopped by its automatic brakes.[3] The perpetrator was 24-year-old Anis Amri, an unsuccessful asylum seeker from Tunisia. Four days after the attack, he was killed in a shootout with police near Milan in Italy. An initial suspect was arrested and later released due to lack of evidence. Nearly five years after the attack, a man who was critically injured during the attack died from complications related to his wounds, becoming the 13th victim.[4] The attack is the deadliest act of terror in Germany since the 1980 Oktoberfest bombing in Munich, which killed 13 people and injured 211 others,[5][6] and as of December 2023, it remains the worst Islamist terrorist attack by number of casualties in German history.[7]
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack and released a video of the perpetrator, Anis Amri, pledging allegiance to the terror group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[8]
- ^ "Anschlag in Berlin: Zahl der Verletzten liegt nun offiziell bei 56". Berliner Zeitung (in German). 6 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ GmbH, Süddeutsche.de (31 May 2017). "IS drängte Amri zu Anschlag auf Berliner Weihnachtsmarkt". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ^ "Automatic brakes stopped Berlin truck during Christmas market attack". DW.COM. Deutsche Welle. 28 December 2016. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ^ "Berlin attack: First aider dies 5 years after Christmas market murders". BBC. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "Why Did Germany Fail to Stop Terrorist?". Spiegel Online. 5 January 2017. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ Gerber, Larry (29 September 1980). "Neo-Nazi Group Suspected in Munich Oktoberfest Bombing". The Lewiston Daily Sun. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
- ^ "Islamistisch motivierter Terrorismus/Extremismus". Bundeskriminalamt. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Prince, S.J. (23 December 2016). "WATCH: Anis Amri, 'Berlin Attacker,' Pledges Allegiance to ISIS". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.