BERLIN, December 22. /TASS/. Berlin’s police officers have likely foiled a new terror attack at a Christmas market organized at the Breitscheidplatz square, the scene of a 2016 attack when Tunisian Anis Amri drove a truck into the market and its guests, German Die Welt reported on Saturday citing sources in German security agencies.
According to the newspaper, plainclothes officers took notice of two suspicious men at the market. After checking their identities, one turned out to have confirmed contacts with the Islamic State terrorist organization, while the other men had an arrest warrant issued for him by the United States. Both men were of Syrian decent and were detained. Germany’s Bild tabloid reports that they are placed on a list of potentially dangerous Islamists and have experience in handling explosives.
The police are now checking a suspicious package that could have been left by the men. Die Welt’s sources are claiming that it might be an improvised explosive device.
Earlier on Saturday, Berlin’s police evacuated people from the Breitscheidplatz market and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church located in the same square. Due to the special operation, Berlin S-Bahn railway trains are not stopping at the Zoologischer Garten station nearby.
On December 19, 2016, terrorist Anis Amri hijacked a truck and deliberately drove into the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz. The terror attack left 12 people dead and 48 more were rushed to hospitals. After the attack, Amri managed to flee the scene and escaped Germany. On December 23, 2016, he was killed in a shootout with Italian police in the outskirts of Milan.