26-year-old Syrian man admits to German stabbing crime

• A 26-year-old Syrian man is in custody for a stabbing rampage in Solingen.
• The Daesh group claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred in Fronhof.
• The arrest may heighten fears ahead of the three state elections in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg.

Authorities said early Sunday that a 26-year-old Syrian man is in custody for a stabbing rampage in the western German city of Solingen, which killed three people and injured eight. The suspect turned himself in and admitted to the crime, according to a joint statement from Düsseldorf police and prosecutors.

“The involvement of this person is currently under intensive investigation,” they said.

The Daesh group claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred on Friday evening in Fronhof, a market square hosting a festival celebrating Solingen’s 650-year history with live bands. Mourners have created a makeshift memorial near the scene.

The arrest of the suspect may heighten fears ahead of the three state elections next month in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg, where the anti-immigrant far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has a chance of winning.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister, Herbert Reul, said the suspect came from a refugee home in Solingen that was searched on Saturday. According to Der Spiegel, which cited unnamed security sources, the man arrived in Germany in late 2022, sought asylum, and had blood on his clothes. The police declined to comment on Der Spiegel's report.

German federal prosecutors have taken over the case and are investigating whether the suspect was a member of Islamic State, a spokesperson for the prosecutors said. In a statement on its Telegram account on Saturday, the group described the suspect as a “soldier of Daesh” and claimed he carried out the attack “in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.”

The group did not immediately provide evidence for its claim, and it remains unclear how close the attacker’s relationship with Islamic State was. On Saturday, Hendrik Wuest, premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, described the attack as an act of terror.

Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has recorded around a dozen Islamist-motivated attacks since 2000. One of the largest was in 2016 when a Tunisian drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens. The BKA reported earlier this year, “The risk of jihadist-motivated acts of violence remains high. Terrorist organizations continue to target the Federal Republic of Germany directly.”

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