/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/26/2024-12-26t112006978z-wion-white-logo-for-website-2-1.png){kind=logo}
/wion/media/agency_attachments/2024/12/13/2024-12-13t071548098z-wionlogo.webp)
/wion/media/post_attachments/files/2024/12/21/472465-untitled-design-10.jpg)
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia had warned Germany about Taleb A, the man suspected of a deadly car attack at Germany's Christmas market, Reuters reported citing a Saudi source.
A man on Friday (Dec 20) drove a car into the Christmas market in Germany's eastern city of Magdeburg, killing at least five, including a toddler, and injuring more than 200.
The source said that Saudi Arabia warned the German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views on his personal X account, threatening peace and security.
The suspect had sympathised with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, local magazine, Der Spiegel reported. However, the magazine did not specify from where it got the information.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency refused to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, Germany's FAZ newspaper said that it interviewed the suspect in 2019, and described him as an anti-Islam activist.
"People like me, who have an Islamic background but are no longer believers, are met with neither understanding nor tolerance by Muslims here," he said, adding, "I am history's most aggressive critic of Islam. If you don't believe me, ask the Arabs."
Earlier today, German police arrested a Saudi man for the attack. The attacker, identified by German media by a partial name Taleb A., is a 50-year-old doctor of psychiatry from Saudi Arabia, who has been living in Germany since 2006.
Saudi Arabia has requested the extradition of the suspect, however, Germany has not responded yet, according to Saudi Arabian security sources.
Saudi Arabia condemns attack
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry condemned the deadly attack that happened in a German Christmas market on Friday.
Watch | Germany Christmas Market Attack: Car Attack Suspect Taken into Custody
“The Kingdom affirms its position in rejecting violence and expresses its sympathy and sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and to the Federal Republic of Germany, government and people, with its wishes for a speedy recovery for the injured,” the statement by the ministry said.
German Chancellor 'very worried'
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed concerns over the attack, saying that he was "very worried" for the severely injured. He further called it a "terrible attack".
“There is no more peaceful, more joyous place in Germany than Christmas markets when people come together ahead of the Christmas festival and spend some time together, drink mulled wine, have a sausage together to relax together,” Scholz told reporters in Magdeburg on Saturday.
“What for a terrible act is that to injure and to kill so many people with such brutality," he said, adding, “We have meanwhile found out that over 200 people were injured. Five have died until now.”
Scholz further stressed that nearly 40 are "severely injured" and that "we are worried for them".
(With inputs from agencies)