German interior minister defends deportation of Berlin terrorist associate
Germany’s interior minister on Thursday defended the hasty deportation of an Islamic extremist who had dinner with Anis Amri the night before he killed 12 people in a 2016 truck attack on a Berlin Christmas.
Bilel Ben Ammar, a fellow Tunisian, is being sought for questioning by a parliamentary probe examining shortcomings in the investigation of the December 19, 2016 Berlin attack. After the attack Amri fled to Italy, where he was shot and killed by police.
Presenting a report on Ammar to reporters in Berlin, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said he did not know the whereabouts of Ammar, who was deported to Tunisia on February 1, 2017.
“His place of residence is not known to me at present,” Seehofer said, adding that he could not rule out the possibility Ammar had returned to Germany.
Seehofer said his office had reviewed Ammar’s expedited deportation and concluded that it was “thoroughly understandable” because Ammar was viewed as a security threat and any involvement in the Berlin attack could not be proven at the time.
Mystery around Ammar’s role
German media reported last week that Ammar had ties to Moroccan intelligence and took photos of the Berlin Christmas market after the attack, which he sent to an unknown phone number two hours later.
Read more: ‘Terrorist accomplice’ in Anis Amri Berlin attack deported, according to report
The bombshell report has spawned speculation from opposition lawmakers that there may have been a cover-up, which the government has denied.
Earlier this week, German media reported that Ammar may have also been in Nice around the time of the July 14, 2016 truck ramming attack by a Tunisian Islamist in the French city that killed 86 people.
Read more: Friend of Berlin truck attacker in France during Nice attack: reports
A screenshot obtained from German police documents showed Ammar had a boarding pass on his phone for a flight from Berlin to Nice dated July 6, 2016 — eight days before the Nice attack. The name on the boarding pass was an alias.
Ammar applied for asylum in Germany under different names and separately claimed to be from Morocco, Egypt and Libya.
-
Trucks: New weapon of choice for terrorists
Nice – Bastille Day (July 14) 2016
A new era of terror appears to have been ushered in when a huge truck plowed through masses of people along a beachfront promenade in the French city of Nice. Some 86 people were killed and at least 300 injured in the carnage. Police said the attacker was raised in Tunisia but moved to France in 2005. He was shot dead by police at the scene of the attack.
-
Trucks: New weapon of choice for terrorists
Berlin – December 2016
A truck attack on a Christmas market left 12 dead and 48 injured a week before Christmas. Police said an ‘Islamic State’ militant hijacked the truck driven by Polish driver Lukasz Urban who tried to alter the direction of the truck, saving lives as he sat in the passenger seat. Urban was killed by the attacker who fled the scene but was shot dead four days later.
-
Trucks: New weapon of choice for terrorists
Stockholm – April 2017
The back end of a delivery truck was left sticking out from the corner of a department store in downtown Stockholm as police investigators examined the site; 5 people were killed and 14 injured. Police soon arrested a suspect. Appearing in court two days later his lawyer Johan Eriksson told the court that the man “admits to a terrorist crime.” He claimed to be an IS supporter.
-
Trucks: New weapon of choice for terrorists
London Bridge attack – June 2017
London endured a trio of truck attacks this year that have left 18 dead and 100 injured. The deadliest attack occured June 3 on London Bridge and the nearby Borough Market, leaving 11 dead and 50 injured. The other vehicle attacks occurred March 22 and June 19; the former left six dead and at least 40 injured, while the latter left one person dead and 10 injured.
-
Trucks: New weapon of choice for terrorists
Charlottesville, VA – August 2017
In a bizarre twist a white supremacist took a page from Islamist militants and turned his vehicle into a weapon, plowing into a crowd of people at an anti-fascism rally, which left one person dead and at least 19 injured. Police charged a 20-year-old man with second-degree murder. He was photographed at the rally with Vanguard America, a white supremacist group.
-
Trucks: New weapon of choice for terrorists
Barcelona – August 2017
A van was used to run down pedestrians on the city’s Las Ramblas street; 17 people were killed and at least 100 injured. Several hours later, 75 miles down the coast, a car slammed into a group of people in the town of Cambrils, killing one and injuring five. There were five people in the attack vehicle and police killed all of them. Police confirmed that the two attacks were connected.
-
Trucks: New weapon of choice for terrorists
New York – October 2017
It didn’t take long for the suspect to wreak havoc Tuesday in lower Manhattan; eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured. After his truck came to a crashing halt the suspect jumped out with a pellet gun and a paintball gun and shouted “God is great.” The 29-year-old suspect was shot by police and taken into custody.
Investigators found the boarding pass on Ammar’s confiscated phone after he had already been deported to Tunisia. Other photos on the phone showed Ammar in Paris with friends in the days before and after the Nice attack.
It’s unclear if Ammar had any contact with the Nice attacker, who is suspected of having had accomplices.
Further pictures found on the phone included those Ammar took from the site of Christmas market attack months before it occurred, as well as images sent to him via social media after the attack.
Seehofer declined to comment on the report that Ammar may have been in Nice, citing an ongoing investigation.
cw/aw (AFP, AP, dpa)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-interior-minister-defends-deportation-of-berlin-terrorist-associate/a-47733941?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf