DETAILS are emerging about the Ansbach bomber who killed himself and injured 12 others outside a wine bar in Germany.
Authorities have confirmed the attacker was a 27-year-old Syrian man who tried to claim asylum when he arrived in Germany two years ago.
His application was denied by the German government a year ago but he was allowed to stay in the country because of the ongoing chaos in his war-ravaged home nation.
He had tried to kill himself twice before last night’s explosion and had received psychiatric care while living in Germany.
At around 10.30pm local time the bomber, wearing a rucksack, attempted to gain access to the Ansbach Open music festival, but was turned away by a security guard.
He then travelled to the nearby Eugene’s Wine Bar, which is where the explosion took place, killing the attacker and injuring 12 others, three critically.
German interior minister Joachim Herrmann said the contents of his backpack could have killed many more people as it was stuffed with explosives and riddled with “wood manufacturing equipment”, such as nails and bolts.
Investigators are probing links to terrorist organisations and have not ruled out the possibility the bomber was an Islamic extremist.
However, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office in Ansbach said the bomber’s definitive motive is not yet clear.
Michael Schrotberger said: “If there is an Islamist link or not is purely speculation at this point.”
If Islamist motives are confirmed it would be the fifth extremist attack in Germany since February 2015, but the one that caused the least loss of life.
Under German immigration law an asylum seeker whose request is denied must leave the country within 30 days if their application is rejected as without merit or one week if it is viewed as being “manifestly without merit”.
But the bomber was allowed to remain in Germany because, due to the ongoing conflict in Syria, Angela Merkel loosened the nation’s immigration laws to allow even declined asylum seekers to stay indefinitely until the Syrian violence dies down or an alternative destination can be found.
Germany took in more than a million immigrants last year, leading to angry protests against Chancellor Angela Merkel by far right groups.
The attacker’s actions have been condemned by Joachim Herrman.
The interior minister said: “It is terrible that someone abuses the opportunity to find protection here in such a way. I am appalled by that.
“We have to do all we can so that such violence in our country committed by asylum seekers who have come to our country will not spread any further.”
Authorities have confirmed the attacker was a 27-year-old Syrian man who tried to claim asylum when he arrived in Germany two years ago.
He had tried to kill himself twice before last night’s explosion and had received psychiatric care while living in Germany.
At around 10.30pm local time the bomber, wearing a rucksack, attempted to gain access to the Ansbach Open music festival, but was turned away by a security guard.
He then travelled to the nearby Eugene’s Wine Bar, which is where the explosion took place, killing the attacker and injuring 12 others, three critically.
German interior minister Joachim Herrmann said the contents of his backpack could have killed many more people as it was stuffed with explosives and riddled with “wood manufacturing equipment”, such as nails and bolts.
Investigators are probing links to terrorist organisations and have not ruled out the possibility the bomber was an Islamic extremist.
However, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office in Ansbach said the bomber’s definitive motive is not yet clear.
Michael Schrotberger said: “If there is an Islamist link or not is purely speculation at this point.”
If Islamist motives are confirmed it would be the fifth extremist attack in Germany since February 2015, but the one that caused the least loss of life.
Under German immigration law an asylum seeker whose request is denied must leave the country within 30 days if their application is rejected as without merit or one week if it is viewed as being “manifestly without merit”.
But the bomber was allowed to remain in Germany because, due to the ongoing conflict in Syria, Angela Merkel loosened the nation’s immigration laws to allow even declined asylum seekers to stay indefinitely until the Syrian violence dies down or an alternative destination can be found.
Germany took in more than a million immigrants last year, leading to angry protests against Chancellor Angela Merkel by far right groups.
The attacker’s actions have been condemned by Joachim Herrman.
The interior minister said: “It is terrible that someone abuses the opportunity to find protection here in such a way. I am appalled by that.
“We have to do all we can so that such violence in our country committed by asylum seekers who have come to our country will not spread any further.”
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