Monday, December 13, 2021
Fighter is on terror list
IS is probably behind the Breitscheidplatz attack
Shortly after the terrorist attack on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, in which twelve people were killed five years ago, the name of a possible client was mentioned. Reporters want to have identified the man: The IS fighter is responsible for the attacks in Europe and is said to be still alive.
Almost five years after the attack on the Christmas market on Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz, a client is said to have been identified, according to a report by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB). The station reported that it was an Iraqi-born functionary of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia, citing its own research.
Reporters managed to identify the man with the battle name Abu Bara’a al-Iraqi. The broadcaster reported that the RBB had more personal data and a photo. Shortly after the attack, the battle name appeared without it being specifically assigned at the time.
In the attack on December 19, 2016, the assassin Anis Amri killed twelve people by driving them over with a truck. A few weeks ago, a first aider who had sustained severe head injuries for unknown reasons also died.
According to the RBB, Sadi Ahmed Pire, board member and foreign policy spokesman for the Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK), which is co-ruling in Iraq, confirmed the identity and function of al-Iraqi as the person responsible for planning the ISIS attack in Europe. He was one of the most important organizers of attacks abroad, especially in Germany, Great Britain and France, Pire told the broadcaster, citing findings from Iraqi security circles.
Federal prosecutor does not want to comment on findings
The first indications of a possible client were given just a few days after the attack. Since the battle name was used by several fighters, it was not possible to clearly identify it. Pire told the RBB that IS functionary al-Iraqi is still considered dangerous by Iraqi security authorities and is still on the country’s terrorist list. Iraqi security circles assumed that he was still alive.
The FDP chairman in the Bundestag investigation committee into the attack, Benjamin Strasser, called for an investigation by the federal prosecutor’s office. “I expect the German security authorities to pursue the alleged mastermind of the Berlin Christmas market attack and bring them to justice,” said Strasser, who is a state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Justice in the new federal government. After all, this man could still pose a threat to Germany and Europe.
The federal prosecutor’s office, which is leading the investigation into the attack, did not want to comment on the research. In writing, she informed the RBB: “In view of the ongoing investigations, we cannot give you any information about whether and to what extent certain people are being investigated.”