Man claiming to be behind Solingen knife assault turns himself in, German police say

SOLINGEN, Germany — German police stated early Sunday {that a} 26-year-old man turned himself in, claiming to be behind the lethal Solingen knife assault that left three useless and eight wounded at a pageant marking town’s 650th anniversary.

Düsseldorf police stated in a joint assertion with the prosecutor’s workplace that the person “stated that he was responsible for the attack,” including he had been arrested earlier than, however did not present particulars. “This particular person’s involvement within the crime is at present being intensively investigated,” the assertion stated.

On Saturday the Islamic State militant group claimed duty for the assault, with out offering proof. The extremist group stated on its information website that the attacker focused Christians and that he carried out the assaults Friday evening “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.” The declare couldn’t be independently verified.

Officers had earlier stated a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion he knew in regards to the deliberate assault and failed to tell authorities, however that he was not the attacker. Two feminine witnesses instructed police they overheard the boy and an unknown particular person earlier than the assault talking about intentions that corresponded to the bloodshed, officers stated.

Individuals alerted police shortly after 9:30 p.m. native time Friday {that a} man had assaulted a number of individuals with a knife on town’s central sq., the Fronhof. The three individuals killed had been two males aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old lady, authorities stated. Police stated the attacker appeared to have intentionally aimed for his victims’ throats.

Solingen, a metropolis of about 160,000 residents close to the larger cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf, was holding a “Festival of Diversity” to have fun its anniversary. It started Friday and was presupposed to run via Sunday, with a number of levels in central streets providing sights comparable to dwell music, cabaret and acrobatics. The assault occurred in entrance of 1 stage.

The pageant was canceled as police appeared for clues within the cordoned-off sq..

The IS militant group declared its caliphate in massive elements of Iraq and Syria a couple of decade in the past, however now holds no management over any land and has misplaced many outstanding leaders. The group is generally out of worldwide information headlines.

Nonetheless, it continues to recruit members and declare duty for lethal assaults all over the world, together with deadly operations in Iran and Russia earlier this yr that killed dozens of individuals. Its sleeper cells in Syria and Iraq nonetheless perform assaults on authorities forces in each international locations in addition to U.S.-backed Syrian fighters.