Latest news with #Amaq
Local Germany
7 days ago
- Politics
- Local Germany
Suspect pleads guilty to deadly knife rampage at German festival in Solingen
Issa Al Hasan, 27, made the confession at the start of his trial, which was held under tight security at the higher regional court in Düsseldorf. In a statement read out by his lawyer, Hasan, sitting under police guard behind a protective glass screen, admitted having "committed a grave crime". "Three people died at my hands. I seriously injured others," Hasan said of the attack in August in the western city of Solingen. "Some of them survived only by luck. They could have died, too," he said in the statement. "I deserve and expect a life sentence." The stabbing spree at the mid-summer street festival was one of a string of attacks that shocked Germany and stoked security fears. Hasan was an asylum seeker from Syria who had been slated for deportation. German authorities' failure to remove him from the country fired a bitter debate over immigration in the run-up to national elections in February this year. Hasan faces charges including three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder and membership of a foreign terror organisation. 'Revenge' Prosecutors say he set out to harm "nonbelievers" at the "festival for diversity" in the centre of the western city of Solingen. Hasan allegedly saw his targets "as representatives of Western society" and sought "to take revenge against them for the military actions of Western states". Advertisement A member of IS whom Hasan had contacted that month allegedly encouraged him to go ahead with the plan and promised him that the group would claim it and use it for propaganda purposes. The group later said via its Amaq outlet on the Telegram messaging app that an IS "soldier" had carried out the attack in "revenge" for Muslims. Prosecutors say Hasan had filmed videos in which he pledged allegiance to IS and forwarded them on to his IS contact just before he committed the attack. German federal and state leaders stand at a memorial for the victims of the knife attack in Solingen. Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP In the statement read out by his lawyer, Hasan recanted his alleged motivation for carrying out the attack. "I killed and injured innocent people, not unbelievers," he said. "Christians, Jews and Muslims, we all are cousins, not enemies." Immigration debate The Solingen stabbing spree was one in a series of attacks attributed to asylum seekers and migrants that pushed immigration to the top of the political agenda in Germany. In May 2024, a man with a knife attacked people at an anti-Islam rally in Mannheim, mortally wounding a police officer who intervened. The Afghan suspect in the stabbing went on trial in February and is also alleged to be sympathetic to the IS group. In December, a Saudi man was arrested after a car rammed into a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg, killing six people and wounding hundreds. And in January, a man with a kitchen knife attacked a group of kindergarten children in Aschaffenburg, killing a two-year-old boy and a man who tried to intervene. A 28-year-old Afghan man was arrested at the scene of the attack, which came during campaigning for elections on February 23rd. Advertisement Just ten days before the vote, an Afghan man was arrested on suspicion of ploughing a car through a street rally in Munich, killing a two-year-old girl and her mother and injuring dozens. READ ALSO: How German media reveals its bias when foreigners commit crimes The centre-right CDU/CSU, which demanded tough curbs on immigration in the wake of the attacks, came first in the election with 28.5 percent of the vote. The biggest gains however were made by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which saw its share of the vote more than double to over 20 percent.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
Syrian IS suspect goes on trial over German festival stabbing
A Syrian man suspected of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group went on trial in Germany on Tuesday over a deadly knife attack that killed three people last year. Issa Al Hasan faces charges including three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and membership of a foreign terror organisation. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The stabbing in August in the western city of Solingen was one of a string of attacks that shocked Germany and stoked security fears. The suspect, who was 26 at the time of the attack, was an asylum seeker from Syria who had been slated for deportation. German authorities' failure to remove him from the country fired a bitter debate over immigration in the run-up to national elections. Hasan is alleged to have set out to harm "nonbelievers" at the summer "festival for diversity" in the centre of the western city of Solingen. The accused "saw them as representatives of Western society" and sought "to take revenge against them for the military actions of Western states", prosecutors have said. A member of IS whom Hasan had contacted the same month as the attack allegedly encouraged him to go ahead with the plan and promised him that the group would claim it and use it for propaganda purposes. The group later said in a statement via its Amaq news agency on the Telegram messaging app that an IS "soldier" had carried out the attack in "revenge" for Muslims "in Palestine and everywhere". Prosecutors say Hasan filmed videos in which he pledged allegiance to IS and forwarded them on to his IS contact just before he committed the attack.
TimesLIVE
22-04-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
ISWAP claims responsibility for deadly attacks in Nigeria
In Adamawa state, the group claimed responsibility for two attacks on Banga village, a Christian community. The first, on April 15, allegedly resulted in the deaths of two Christians and the torching of over 30 houses and a church, with "Amaq" publishing photographs of the assault. The second attack on Banga, on April 16, targeted a Nigerian police patrol in the village, damaging a vehicle and wounding several officers. It also released a photo album depicting an assault on Lareh village in Adamawa, showing houses belonging to Christians and a church being set on fire but it was not accompanied with a claim. Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters have mainly operated in northeastern Nigeria and targeted security forces and civilians, killing or displacing tens of thousands of people. The Nigerian government has said it will "crush" the groups, increasing this year's defence budget by over 40%.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ISWAP claims responsibility for deadly attacks in Nigeria
By Isaac Anyaogu LAGOS (Reuters) - The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks targeting Nigerian security forces as well as Christian civilians in Nigeria's northeastern regions earlier this month. Through seven messages posted on its news agency "Amaq," ISWAP claimed it conducted these operations, backing up the statements with a video depicting one of the assaults and two photo albums documenting two other operations. The attacks in Borno state targeted a Nigerian army barracks in Yamtage town where it claimed it killed three soldiers and set the barracks ablaze. ISWAP also claimed that its fighters captured and subsequently killed four members of pro-government militias loyal to the Nigerian army in the same state. In Adamawa state, the group claimed responsibility for two attacks on Banga village, a Christian community. The first, on April 15, allegedly resulted in the deaths of two Christians and the torching of over 30 houses and a church, with "Amaq" publishing photographs of the assault. The second attack on Banga, on April 16, targeted a Nigerian police patrol in the village, damaging a vehicle and wounding several officers. It also released a photo album depicting an assault on Lareh village in Adamawa, showing houses belonging to Christians and a church being set on fire but it was not accompanied with a claim. Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters have mainly operated in northeastern Nigeria and targeted security forces and civilians, killing or displacing tens of thousands of people. The Nigerian government has said it will "crush" the groups, increasing this year's defence budget by over 40%. (This story has been corrected to say 'northeastern regions,' not 'northwestern regions,' in paragraph 1)
The Star
21-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
ISWAP claims responsibility for deadly attacks in Nigeria
LAGOS (Reuters) - The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks targeting Nigerian security forces as well as Christian civilians in Nigeria's northwestern regions earlier this month. Through seven messages posted on its news agency "Amaq," ISWAP claimed it conducted these operations, backing up the statements with a video depicting one of the assaults and two photo albums documenting two other operations. The attacks in Borno state targeted a Nigerian army barracks in Yamtage town where it claimed it killed three soldiers and set the barracks ablaze. ISWAP also claimed that its fighters captured and subsequently killed four members of pro-government militias loyal to the Nigerian army in the same state. In Adamawa state, the group claimed responsibility for two attacks on Banga village, a Christian community. The first, on April 15, allegedly resulted in the deaths of two Christians and the torching of over 30 houses and a church, with "Amaq" publishing photographs of the assault. The second attack on Banga, on April 16, targeted a Nigerian police patrol in the village, damaging a vehicle and wounding several officers. It also released a photo album depicting an assault on Lareh village in Adamawa, showing houses belonging to Christians and a church being set on fire but it was not accompanied with a claim. Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters have mainly operated in northeastern Nigeria and targeted security forces and civilians, killing or displacing tens of thousands of people. The Nigerian government has said it will "crush" the groups, increasing this year's defence budget by over 40%. (Reporting by Menna AlaaElDin; Writing and additional reporting by Isaac Anyaogu; Editing by Mark Porter)
