The Islamic State terrorist organization has claimed responsibility for the terror attack Sunday in the southern German city of Ansbach, calling the suicide bomber a “soldier of ISIS.”
A Syrian asylum seeker blew himself up outside a music festival on Sunday after he failed to gain entry to the event.
The quick action by guards who blocked the entry of the attacker contained the damage; 15 people were wounded but the bomber was the only casualty.
Initially there was uncertainty about the motives behind the explosion, with police telling media that the Syrian refugee “may have been suicidal” due to his personal circumstances. Security personnel said he had acted on his own.
But as the investigation clarified the amount of explosive material that detonated in the blast, combined with the fact that the operative made an effort to enter a festival filled with thousands of participants, the intent of the Syrian “refugee” became obvious.
In addition, The attacker who left a bomb outside a bar in Ansbach, Germany, had enough materials to make another explosive device, according to police. The man also pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a video found on his phone.
The attacker left a bomb outside a bar in Ansbach and had enough materials to make another explosive device, according to police. The man also pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a video found on his phone, according to a statement by Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Hermann, quoted by AP.
“A provisional translation by an interpreter shows that he expressly announces, in the name of Allah, and testifying his allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a famous Islamist leader, an act of revenge against the Germans because they’re getting in the way of Islam,” Hermann said at a news conference. “I think that after this video there’s no doubt that the attack was a terrorist attack with an Islamist background,” he added.
The Da’esh (ISIS) terrorist organization meanwhile claimed responsibility for being the inspiration behind the actions of the “lone wolf” attacker. But the group said the suicide bomber had acted in response to its calls to target nations who participate in the coalition fighting against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
The group had also taken responsibility for inspiring an attack in Germany last week by a 17-year-old who boarded a train and started swinging an ax and a knife.
Earlier in the day on Monday German sources said they had found ISIS propaganda on the bomber’s electronic devices. Police also found bomb-making equipment at his home.
The asylum seeker-turned-bomber had been given a place to live, even though he was not going to be allowed to stay in country permanently.