A 26-year-old man has handed himself in to German police following a stabbing attack at a street festival in Solingen on August 23. Three people were killed and eight wounded.
A 26-year-old man named by police as Issa Al H has “given himself up to authorities in charge of the [Solingen stabbing] investigation and declared himself responsible for the attack,” German police announced on August 25.
The Syrian national is suspected of carrying out a stabbing attack at a festival to mark the 650th anniversary of the city of Solingen, which lies about 25 kilometres southeast of Düsseldorf.
A man and a woman both aged 56 and a man aged 67 were killed in the attack. Eight people were left wounded, four of whom remain in critical condition in hospital.
Police said that they had also arrested a 15-year-old who had allegedly been witnessed discussing the attack on the “Festival of Diversity”.
Since Friday the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the stabbing, saying “the perpetrator of the attack on a gathering of Christians [...] was a soldier of the Islamic State".
In a statement, the prosecutor's office said it strongly suspected Issa Al H “of belonging to a terrorist group abroad”.
Earlier in August, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) and the German domestic intelligence agency warned that Germany faced an “abstractly high risk” as terrorist groups attempted to radicalise people in Europe via the internet.
Germany’s unwavering support for the Israeli government’s war on Gaza following October 7 has put the federal republic in the “firing line” according to Faeser. Following the Solingen attack, the IS claimed Al H’s actions were “revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere”.
On a visit to Solingen, Faeser appealed for Germany to “remain united” in the face of “those who want to stir up hatred”.
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