Latest: Berlin Christmas market attack
At least 12 people are dead and 48 injured after a truck drove through a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday evening.
“For now we know little of this deed for certain,” the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said at a press conference. “But given the current information we have we have to assume we are dealing with a terrorist attack.”
A suspect was taken into custody shortly after the attack. Details of the suspect were given at a press conference by Germany’s interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, but police officials later said they were unsure whether the man in custody had committed the attack. The man, a 23-year-old originally from Pakistan, was not known to security forces for any “suspicious activity” and denied involvement in the attack, De Maizière said.
The number of victims rose overnight from nine to 12, as doctors in clinics around Berlin worked to save lives and treat injuries. One of the dead was the lorry’s registered driver, a Polish national who police said was shot in Potsdam, about nine miles west of Berlin, before the market attack.
Six detained after Russian ambassador shot dead in Ankara
Turkish authorities have detained six people for questioning over the assassination of the Russian ambassador in Ankara, as a team of Russian investigators arrived in the country to help the investigation. Those detained include the parents, sister, roommate and three other relatives of the gunman, Mevlut Mert Altıntas, according to local media reports. Andrei Karlov was shot multiple times by the off-duty riot police officer on Monday during the opening of a photography exhibition at a gallery in the Turkish capital. Altıntas was shot by police at the scene. Officials from both countries have been quick to stress their desire for cooperation in the aftermath of the attack and insist the killing will not lead to a downward spiral in diplomatic relations. Footage of the attack showed Altıntas, dressed in a suit and tie, standing calmly behind the ambassador. He pulled out a gun, shouted “Allahu Akbar” and fired at least eight shots. He then shouted in Turkish: “Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria. Unless our towns are secure, you won’t enjoy security. Only death can take me from here. Everyone who is involved in this suffering will pay a price.”