Anis Amri
Anis Amri is believed to be the man behind the Christmas market attack –the latest terrorist attack in which a lorry was used to murder 12 people on Monday night. He is currently on the run.
On Monday December 19, 2016 a truck ploughed through a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring at least 49 others.
Theories say Anis Amri hijacked the lorry from a Polish driver, identified as Lukasz Urban. His body was found shot dead in its cab and was identified by the company owner. Lukasz was supposedly taking steel to Berlin from Italy, he is believed to have been Anis Amri’s first victim.
Anis then drove the semi-trailer truck over the market, crossed a sidewalk at Breitscheidplatz and destroyed several booths. After he came to a stop, Anis was seen leaving the truck and fleeing by a number of witnesses.
Authorities are almost certain Anis conducted the heinous crime after his paperwork was found in the footwell of the lorry. A manhunt is currently being conducted to find him, police believe he is armed, ‘highly dangerous’ and could be injured following the massacre.
Anis Amri was born in Tataouine, Tunisia, in 1992. It is believed he is a refugee who arrived into Germany earlier this year.
He allegedly applied for asylum in Germany and his application was rejected in July. Attempts to deport him to Tunisia failed as he did not have identification papers, and Tunisian authorities disputed whether he was their national.
He had moved from NRW to Berlin in February 2016.
Police raided a shelter in the town of Emmerich, western Germany –where he is believed to have lived.
Accoridng to Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, the 23-year-old has been linked in the past to Islamic extremist, in fact, police arrested him last August for GBH and having fake passport. He was released hours later and vanished earlier this month, before being charged.
German police had been on the look out for him, due to prior involvement in an earlier terrorist plot.
Accoridng to his social media information, he is supportive to Tunisian terror group Ansar al-Sharia, a Tunisian group with followers linked to extremists who murdered 22 at Tunis’ Bardo Museum in March 2015 and then 39 tourists at a beach resort in Sousse.
Anis Amri is allegedly a disciple of Abu Walaa, arrested in Hildesheim last month for recruiting radicals into the ranks of Isis.
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