Berlin market: ISIS says it inspired attack

ISIS says it inspired the attack at a Berlin Christmas market, but authorities say they still don't know who was behind the wheel when a truck plowed into a crowd, killing 12 people and injuring 48 others.


The ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency released a statement Tuesday saying Monday night's attack was carried out by "a soldier of the Islamic State" in response to calls by the group's leadership to target citizens of international coalition countries.

German authorities are investigating the attack as an act of terror. They released a man they'd earlier described as a suspect, saying there wasn't enough evidence to keep him in custody.

Latest developments

    Prosecutor: Forensic tests haven't confirmed man was in truck's cabin.
    Mourners pack nearby church at memorial for victims.
    Officials say several people could have been involved in the attack.
    A weapon used in the attack has not yet been found.
    Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the site where 12 people died.

Attacker at large?
Berlin police called on the public to remain alert as confusion swirled over who was driving when the truck barreled over a curb into the crowded market.

"They're really back to square one in terms of this investigation. ... It may well be a scenario of a manhunt, a race against time to arrest this individual before they can strike again," CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said.

On Tuesday, German authorities released the man they'd detained after the attack, saying they haven't been able to prove that he was behind the wheel.

"The results of the investigation thus far have not produced imminent suspicion against the accused," Germany's general prosecutor said in a statement.

Investigators had initially described the asylum-seeker they detained as a suspect. But a day later, they seemed to be backing off that claim.

"We possibly need to assume that we have not arrested the right one," Peter Frank, general prosecutor at Germany's Federal Court of Justice, told journalists.

"We do not know if there was one perpetrator or several perpetrators yet. We do not know if there was support given to the perpetrator."

Authorities didn't release the identity of the man they detained and later released. German Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere said earlier that the man was "probably from Pakistan." He entered Germany on December 31, 2015, De Maiziere said, and his application for asylum had stalled.

So far, forensic tests haven't linked the man to the truck's cabin, the prosecutor said.

A German intelligence official told CNN that security services were concerned that the attacker was still at large and dangerous.

Stalls shuttered at normally busy market
While investigators searched for clues, the usually bustling Christmas market was eerily quiet Tuesday, with stalls shuttered and nearby roads blocked off.

The sounds of a choir singing rang out as a terrorism expert spoke to CNN near the market.
"You have peace concerts, you have people laying down wreaths, you have people writing cards and people speaking silent prayers. This is completely unprecedented," said Peter Neumann, director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization. "I don't think a lot of people are aware there's an attacker on the loose, potentially."

Thousands of people filled the nearby Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church to pay their respects to the victims Tuesday night.

Those unable to enter the packed building waited outside in the winter air, many hugging each other, crying, or silently clutching candles.

Polish citizen found dead
Berlin police said the man found dead inside the truck was a Polish citizen and was not driving during the incident. The man appeared to have been shot dead, De Maiziere said.

The truck, which was owned by a Polish company, "was steered deliberately into the crowd," police said. It was carrying 25 tons of steel at the time, according to Ariel Zurawski, the owner of the truck company.

Authorities examine a truck Tuesday, December 20, that crashed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin the night before. At least 12 people were killed and 48 injured in what police are investigating as a likely terrorist attack.