Prosecutors Say ‘Islamist Motivation’ Prompted Man to Cause Series of Berlin Motorway Crashes
RT, August 19, 2020
Prosecutors in Berlin have confirmed that a man detained following a series of road traffic incidents is being held on suspicion of Islamist terrorism.
At least six people were injured, three seriously, in three separate accidents on Berlin’s Autobahn A100 on Monday. The man also began threatening people on exiting his vehicle. The road was closed while authorities apprehended the suspect, an Iraqi citizen.
Prosecutors confirmed on Tuesday morning that the man has “Islamist motivation, according to our current knowledge.”
The 30-year-old man allegedly struck several cars, one motorbike and a scooter before emerging from his vehicle and reportedly shouting, “Allahu akbar!” (“God is most great!”) and placing a metal box on the highway.
He also reportedly dissuaded passersby from intervening, shouting: “Nobody should come close or all of you will die!”
Once the scene was secured by police and the man was taken into custody, bomb disposal units determined that the suspected device was nothing but a tool box. There was no trace of any explosives found on the man or in his car.
