Solingen attack: ISIS claims responsibility

Last update 23:54

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Friday for a knife attack in the western German city of Solingen that killed three people on Friday.

The group said one of its members carried out Friday’s deadly knife attack at a festival in Solingen, and acted to “take revenge” on Muslims “in Palestine and elsewhere.”

“The perpetrator of the attack on a Christian gathering in the city of Solingen is a soldier” of the Islamic State, the jihadist group said in a statement published by its Amaq propaganda agency. The statement added that the man, who is still wanted in Germany, acted “in revenge for the Muslims of Palestine and everywhere else.”

Following the deadly attack on the Diversity Festival, the neighbouring cities of Hilden and Haan announced the cancellation of their events, citing security concerns, as the attacker remains at large.

In a show of sympathy for the three deaths and five injuries, the German Football Association has called on Bundesliga teams to play with mourning armbands.

“I am shocked by the terrible act in Solingen, which is a shock for our country. We mourn the dead and are concerned for the injured, to whom I sincerely wish strength and a speedy recovery,” said Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “The perpetrators must be held accountable,” he stressed, calling on citizens to “stand together against hatred and violence.”

Second arrest

Police today announced a second arrest in their investigation into a deadly knife attack in Solingen, western Germany, from which the attacker fled.

The arrest was announced as a major special forces operation took place overnight at a refugee shelter not far from the scene of the attack.

A police spokesman said he could not release any further information about the identity of the person arrested or his possible involvement in the incident.

The first person, a 15-year-old teenager, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning on suspicion of possible links to the attacker.