After ISIS claimed responsibility of the violent attack at the Christmas market in Berlin, German police are still hunting for the terrorist who carried out the fatal truck attack. The officials on Tuesday released a suspect in the case, saying they did not have enough evidence to charge him.
Also read: Berlin truck attack: Authorities assume armed person still at large
The 23-year-old Pakistani refugee was arrested for the attack that killed 12 and injured dozens on Monday. ISIS called a man who managed to flee from the truck as a “soldier of the Islamic state.” The man “carried out the attack in response to calls for targeting citizens of the Crusader coalition,” it said.
Also read: Berlin attack suspect is a Pakistani asylum seeker: Reports
As per the German authorities, the attack was done by the extremist group who hit on a soft target who were sipping wine and enjoying shopping. Initially, witnesses were able to chase the truck’s driver from the scene but lost track of him later.
Although the man detained matched witness descriptions of the truck driver, investigators fails to prove that he was in the truck’s cab when the attack took place. The man strongly denied any participation in the incident.
Also read: Berlin: At least 12 killed, 48 injured after truck crashes into a Christmas Market
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the spot and criticized the attack calling it as an act of terror. “There is still a lot that we don’t know about this act with sufficient certainty,” Merkel said reporters in Berlin. She said she was “shaken and deeply saddened.”
The dead included a Polish citizen found on the passenger seat of the truck. As per the authorities, along with the Polish driver, 6 of the people killed were German.
The others have not been identified yet.
