IS claims responsibility for latest Germany attack

IS claims responsibility for latest Germany attack

Reuters said that German authorities refused to grant the attacker asylum last year, and that the incident happened in Ansbach, a town that is "also home to a U.S. Army base."

The attack happened as a music festival was taking place, prompting the evacuation of 2,500 people.

"It's terrible that someone who came into our country to seek shelter has now committed such a heinous act and injured a large number of people who are at home here, some seriously. It's a further, horrific attack that will increase the already growing security concerns of our citizens. We must do everything possible to prevent the spread of such violence in our country by people who came here to ask for asylum," Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said on Monday morning.

He also said it was "unclear" whether the Syrian planned only to commit suicide or also kill others.

According to Herrmann, the man arrived in Germany two years ago and tried to commit suicide twice in the past.

“My personal opinion is that I unfortunately think it is very obvious that there has been a real Islamist suicide attack here. The obvious intent to kill more people, at least indicates an Islamist background," he said, according to Germany's DPA agency.

But later in the day - Herrmann revealed that the Syrian "pledged allegiance to Islamic State on a video found on his mobile phone."

"A provisional translation by an interpreter shows that he expressly announces, in the name of Allah, and testifying his allegiance to (Islamic State leader) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ... an act of revenge against the Germans because they're getting in the way of Islam," Herrmann told a news conference, Reuters reported on Monday afternoon, adding:

"I think that after this video there's no doubt that the attack was a terrorist attack with an Islamist background."

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Amaq, a news agency that supports Islamic State, Reuters said.

The incident was the fourth attack that happened in Germany in less than a week. A few hours before the bomb went off in Ansbach, a Syrian refugee in Reutlingen killed one woman, injuring two more people when he attacked passers-by with a machete.

On Friday, an 18-year-old Iranian-German killed nine people and wounded dozens more before committing suicide in a shopping mall in Munich.

On July 18, a 17-year-old Afghani used a knife and an ax to attack passengers on a German train, injuring several people before getting shot and killed by the police.