Bavarian Train Rampage: Attacker may be from Pakistan
Security service sources now think he might have pretended to be Afghan on arrival in Germany in 2015
BERLIN:
German authorities cast doubt on Wednesday on whether a teenager who went on an axe rampage on a Bavarian train was really an Afghan refugee, saying he might have been from Pakistan. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the teenager was believed to be a ‘lone wolf’ attacker who appeared to have been ‘inspired’ by the Islamic State group but was not a member of the jihadist network. The Islamic State group released a video on Tuesday featuring the assailant announcing in Pashto he would carry out an ‘operation’ in Germany. German authorities said they had authenticated the video featuring the teen identified in media reports as Riaz Khan Ahmadzai. However, security service sources now think he might have pretended to be Afghan on arrival in Germany in 2015 in order to have a better chance of securing asylum, ZDF public television reported. A Pakistani document was also found in his room.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2016.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ