Germany suicide bomber pledged allegiance to ISIS

A Syrian refugee in Germany who set off a suicide bomb recorded himself earlier admitting his act was revenge against Germans for ‘standing in the way of Islam.’

A Syrian man who blew himself up outside a music festival in Ansbach, Germany, and wounded 15 on Sunday was driven by Islamic terrorism and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) terror organization, German authorities conceded on Monday.

In a video clip he made on his cellphone before he carried out the attack, he pledged that Germans “won’t be able to sleep peacefully anymore.” He said the attack was a “revenge act against Germans because they are standing in the way of Islam.”

“I think after this video there’s no doubt that the attack was a terror attack with an Islamist motivation,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said.

The terrorist set off a backpack packed with explosives and shrapnel after he was denied entry into the festival area. German authorities said that the result of the attack would have been much worse if he would have been allowed entry.

“This was about destroying innocent bystanders,” Roman Fertinger, deputy police chief of nearby Nuremberg, said.

Herrmann said German security forces found the terrorist’s laptop which had on it several ISIS videos.

The terrorist was identified only as Mohammad D, 27, in accordance with German privacy laws.

ISIS, from Syria, also claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was committed by “one of the soldiers of the Islamic State.”

The ISIS-linked Aamaq news agency said the terrorist heeded their calls to carry out attacks in countries that were part of the US-lead coalition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Germany is not directly involved in the attacks, but has lent assistance to the efforts.

German authorities are investigating whether the terrorist has accomplices.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the terrorist had attempted to take his own life twice before in Germany, and had been in psychiatric care.

Shock and Fear on German Streets

This attack was the fourth attack carried out by a Muslim  in Germany in the past week, and the second claimed by ISIS. Three of the attacks were carried out by recent immigrants from Syria and Afghanistan, heightening concerns that Germany is facing a wave of Islamic attacks committed by Muslims coming from the one million migrants who have flooded the country in the past year.

“Naturally people are concerned and are questioning whether they should change their routines,” de Maiziere said. “We should not. … We should continue to live our free lives.”

The German government has ordered an increased security presence at airports, train stations and other possible targets in the wake of the attacks.

“I understand that many people feel unsettled,” he said.

The US military has a facility in Ansbach, and has increased security there following the attack.

Claudia Frosch, an eyewitness, said she saw the terrorist pacing in the street with a backpack, headphones and a cellphone before she entered a nearby cafe. Minutes later, “there was a very loud bang” and people started streaming into the building, covered in blood.

“Everyone was shocked, nobody could help anyone, we didn’t know what to do,” she said.

After the attack, “obviously we now have more fear,” she said. “Obviously if I would see one with a backpack I will have more fear. I would be more cautious.”

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

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