Magdeburg Christmas market attack suspect threatened act to ‘attract international attention’ in 2013
The suspect in the German Christmas market attack “threatened to do something that would attract international attention” in 2013 and was flagged as a potential threat the following year, according to a state interior minister.
Christian Pegel told a press conference the 50-year-old suspect had referred to the Boston Marathon bombings, in which three people were killed and hundreds injured in an Islamist terrorist attack in April 2013, during a professional dispute at around that time.
He was fined after no evidence was found of Islamist tendencies or that he was preparing to commit such an act, said the interior minister for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a state in northern Germany.
German Christmas market attack – latest updates
The suspect has been named by German media as Taleb A, with his surname being withheld in line with privacy laws, although the name has not been confirmed by German authorities.
He is a Saudi citizen who worked as a doctor, who specialised in psychiatry and psychotherapy, and arrived in Germany in 2006.
The aftermath of the Christmas market attack. Pic: Reuters
In January 2014, the suspect was flagged as a potential threat and police held a radicalisation review discussion with him following another incident, said Mr Pegel.
He told the press conference the suspect said “he would carry out actions that would attract international attention and that people would long remember” while trying to obtain funding for his living expenses from a public authority in the city of Stralsund.
He also said he wouldn’t leave until his application was granted, that he might be forced to take “further action” and that “they would be responsible for his suicide”, according to the minister.
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The suspect was told he should stop acting in this manner and committing such offences and that the authorities would be keeping an eye on him, he added.
Mr Pegel said records show he spent time in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern between 2011 and January 2016, probably as part of his training to qualify as a specialised doctor.
Five people, including nine-year-old Andre Gleissner, were killed and more than 200 injured when a car ploughed into crowds in Magdeburg on Friday evening.
The suspect was remanded in custody after appearing before a judge on Saturday evening.
He is being investigated for five counts of suspected murder and 205 counts of suspected attempted murder, prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said.
Social media posts apparently shared by the suspect describe him as a former Muslim.
He has shared anti-Muslim views and was highly critical of German authorities, voicing support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
World
US defence secretary signals dramatic shift in American military policy away from Europe, warning allies about ‘stark strategic realities’
US troops will not be used to secure the peace in Ukraine following any ceasefire deal with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump’s new defence secretary has declared, as he signalled a dramatic shift in American foreign and defence policy away from Europe.
Pete Hegseth also said it is “unrealistic” to think Ukraine can return to its pre-2014 borders and he ruled out NATO membership as way to guarantee Kyiv’s security.
This will be a huge blow for Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The interventions came at the opening of a meeting of allies in Brussels on Wednesday.
Follow live: Ukraine war latest
Defence secretaries Pete Hegseth and John Healey meeting in Brussels.
Pic: Reuters/Johanna Geron/Pool
Mr Hegseth said Washington must focus on the threat posed by China and securing its own borders.
He added: “Stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.
“As the United States shifts its attention to these threats, European allies must lead from the front,” Mr Hegseth said in opening remarks at the gathering of NATO and non-NATO countries that are providing military support to Ukraine.
NATO spending
Mr Trump – a long-time critic of the alliance, which he sees as containing freeloaders that benefit from American military strength without investing in their own security – has said all NATO allies should increase defence spending to 5% of GDP.
This is more than double the current target. The UK is only spending 2.3%.
While still supportive of NATO, Mr Hegseth warned that America’s patience was limited.
“Our transatlantic alliance has endured for decades. And we fully expect it will sustained for generations more. But this won’t just happen,” he said.
He continued: “It will require our European allies to step into the arena and take ownership of conventional security on this continent.
“The United States remains committed to the NATO alliance and to the defence partnership with Europe.
“Our relationship will prioritise empowering Europe to own responsibility for its security.”
Ukraine-Russia war
Mr Hegseth also had strong words about Russia’s war in Ukraine, which he said “must end”.
Speaking frankly, he dismissed a fundamental Ukrainian goal to recapture all its territory – including Crimea and swathes of the Donbas that were seized by Russia in 2014 when Mr Putin first invaded his neighbour. This aim had previously been backed by the UK and other allies.
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“We want… a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” he said.
“Chasing this illusory goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”
The US defence secretary said that a durable peace must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war won’t begin again – but he made clear that the US would not be part of that effort on the ground and it could not be a NATO operation.
It was not immediately clear, however, whether the US military may help to provide protection from a distance.
“These security guarantees should not be provided through NATO membership, but must instead be backed by capable European and non-European troops,” the US defence secretary said.
“If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and not covered under Article 5. There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact.”
Pete Hegseth stands with German defence minister Boris Pistorius.
Pic: Reuters/Johanna Geron/Pool
Article 5 of NATO says an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
Read more: What is Article 5?
Mr Hegseth continued: “To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine.”
His words will be a significant setback for Kyiv.
President Zelenskyy told Sky News last week that any peacekeeping force that did not include a US element would be a “major mistake”, signalling that he did not believe European militaries alone could deter Moscow.
The retreat of the US from its leadership role in Ukraine was clear in the choreography of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting – an alignment of allies gathered together by Washington under Joe Biden and his defence secretary Loyd Austin after Russia launched its full-scale invasion almost exactly three years ago.
Future of European security
The regular meetings have until now always been chaired by the US.
Wednesday’s meeting, however, was led by John Healey, the UK defence secretary.
Mr Hegseth made clear that European allies would need to step up and take on much more of the effort to provide Ukraine with weapons and non-military support.
“Safeguarding European security is an imperative for European members of NATO. As part of this, Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine,” he said.
This means donating more ammunition, expanding Europe’s defence industrial base and rallying the public to be willing to respond to the threat the continent faces.
“Part of this is speaking frankly with your people about how this threat can only be met by spending more on defence and investing strategically,” Mr Hegseth said.
“Increasing your commitment to your own security is a down payment for the future.”
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he agreed with US president Donald Trump on the need for Washington and European allies to share the burden of military aid for Ukraine more equally.
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