Berlin terror attack aimed at Christmas market:
Witness Mike Fox told The Associated Press at the scene that the large truck missed him by only about three meters as it drove into the market, tearing through tables and wooden stands.
"It was definitely deliberate," said the tourist from Birmingham, England.
He said he helped people who appeared to have broken limbs, and that others were trapped under Christmas stands.
In recent weeks, authorities in Europe warned that Christmas markets could be the target of terrorists attacks.
Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical analysis for global intelligence firm Stratfor, told FoxNews.com recently that Christmas markets during the month of December were easy targets for terrorists.
“It’s obvious that the threat will always remain,” he said, “but with the holidays and many of the Christmas markets that are normally set up this time of year, it proves to be a tempting soft target.”
Prosecutors in Ludwigshafen said a 17-year-old boy of Iraqi heritage attempted to blow up a device at the local Christmas market on November 26, the Local reported. The device failed to detonate and tried again on December 5.
The device was hidden in a rucksack filed with nails and placed in a bush near the town hall.
Prosecutors said a pedestrian spotted the bag and alerted police, who carried out a controlled explosion.
According to Focus magazine, the 12-year-old boy was born in Rhineland-Palatinate in 2004 and had encouraged to carry out the attack by an as-of-yet unknown member of ISIS. |
