By Rachel More and Jutta Schuetz, dpa
Berlin (dpa) – A series of crashes on a Berlin motorway, in which several people were injured, are thought to have been an Islamist attack, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
“According to what we currently know, it was an Islamist-motivated attack,” a spokesman for the public prosecutor in the German capital said.
However, he also noted that there was evidence that the 30-year-old Iraqi suspect, who has been detained, suffers from mental health problems.
On Tuesday evening, the driver caused three accidents on the autobahn near central Berlin.
A spokesman for the fire brigade said that three people were seriously injured, and another three suffered minor injuries.
Parts of the city highway were still closed off the following morning.
The suspect is being investigated on suspicion of attempted murder on several counts, the prosecutor’s spokesman said.
“Under the circumstances, we do not consider this to have been a chance accident,” he added.
Police said the man, when stopped, claimed to have a “dangerous item” in a box that he was carrying in the vehicle.
Technicians assessed a metal box for carrying ammunition and shot at it with water cannon, a police spokeswoman said. However, nothing suspicious was found inside.
Be the first to comment on "Islamist attack suspected following Berlin motorway crashes"