German authorities have identified a 26-year-old Syrian man as the perpetrator of a deadly stabbing spree at a festival last week. The attack, which left three people dead and eight wounded, has been linked to the Islamic State (IS).
Federal prosecutors in Germany identified the suspect as Issa Al H., omitting his family name due to German privacy laws.
IS claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was carried out “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere” and targeted Christians.
In a statement on its Telegram account, IS described the attacker as a “soldier of the Islamic State.”
Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, revealed that Issa Al H. was residing at a refugee shelter in Solingen prior to the attack.
According to Der Spiegel magazine, citing unidentified security sources, the suspect had arrived in Germany in late 2022 and sought asylum.
Following the August 23 attack, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for stricter immigration laws and the repatriation of those who are not allowed to stay in Germany. He emphasized the need to implement “everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and are not allowed to stay in Germany are repatriated and deported.”
“This was terrorism, terrorism against us all,” Scholz stated during a visit to the scene of the attack.
The attack occurred at around 9:35 p.m. local time on August 23, while people were enjoying a live music band performance at a stage commemorating the town’s 650th anniversary.
The three victims were identified as two men aged 67 and 56, and a 56-year-old woman. Authorities reported that the attacker appeared to have deliberately targeted the victims’ throats.
Following the attack, police cordoned off the square, and passers-by placed candles and flowers outside the barriers.
In a translated social media post immediately after the attack, Solingen Mayor Tim Kurzbach expressed shock and sadness, writing, “Tonight we are all in Solingen in shock, fright and great sadness. We all wanted to celebrate our city anniversary together, and now we have to mourn the dead and injured. Breaks my heart that there was an assassination attack on our town.”
Fatal stabbings and shootings are relatively uncommon in Germany. The government announced earlier this month its intention to tighten regulations on knives carried in public.
In May, an Afghan migrant carried out a knife attack in the southwestern German city of Würzburg, wounding an anti-Islam activist and several others, including a police officer who later died. Days later, a member of the German right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) was stabbed in the city while campaigning for elections.
The violence comes ahead of three state elections next month in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, where the anti-mass immigration right-wing party AfD has a chance of winning.
Although the motive and identity of the attacker were not initially known, Bjoern Hoecke, a top AfD candidate for one of the state elections, seized on the attack, posting on X: “Do you really want to get used to this? Free yourselves and end this insanity of forced multiculturalism”.
Reuters and