Islamic State claims responsibility for knife attack in Germany that left three dead

SOLINGEN, Germany (AP) — The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility Saturday for a knife attack that killed three people and injured eight others at a well-attended festival marking the city's 650th anniversary.

The extremist group said on its news site that the attacker targeted Christians and carried out the attacks on Friday evening as an “Islamic State soldier” “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere else.”

The IS claim could not be verified at first. The group did not provide any evidence for its statements.

The police then arrested a suspect, said the Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia early Sunday.

“We have been following a hot lead all day,” Herbert Reul told ARD's Tagesschau. “The person we have been looking for all day was recently arrested.”

He will be questioned, said Reul.

Reul said the police had collected not only “clues” but also “evidence.”

Officials had previously said a 15-year-old boy was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of knowing about the planned attack and failing to inform authorities, but he was not the attacker. Two female witnesses told police they heard the boy and an unidentified person discussing intentions related to the bloodshed before the attack, officials said.

Before Reul's announcement, Markus Caspers, senior public prosecutor in the counterterrorism department of the public prosecutor's office, said at a press conference on Saturday that the authorities could not yet comment on the attacker's motive.

“So far we have not been able to identify a motive, but given the overall circumstances we cannot rule out the possibility of terrorism,” Caspers said, without giving further details.

The three dead were two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman, authorities said. Police said the attacker apparently aimed specifically at his victims' throats.

“We are seeing the first signs of a new wave of terrorist attacks,” said Peter Neumann, professor of security studies at King's College London. IS “is trying to capitalize on the enormous mobilization following Hamas's terror offensive on October 7, 2023, even though it had nothing to do with it, strictly speaking,” he said.

“The type of attack we saw in Solingen is exactly the type of attack that IS wants to inspire. It calls on people on the Internet to attack 'infidels' with simple means, such as cars and knives. In this way it tries to create the impression that the Islamic State is everywhere and could strike at any time,” Neumann told the Associated Press.

Thorsten Fleiss, who led police operations on Friday evening, said officers would conduct searches and investigations throughout the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

He said police found several knives, but added that he could not confirm whether any of them were used in the attack.

Police warned the public to remain vigilant even as well-wishers began laying flowers at the scene. Authorities set up an online portal where witnesses could upload footage and other information relevant to the attack.

Solingen's churches opened their doors to provide space for prayer and emergency pastoral care.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited the city on Saturday evening and said the government would do everything possible to support the people of Solingen.

“We will not allow such a terrible attack to divide our society,” she said together with Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst and Reul.

Wüst described the attack as “a terrorist act against the security and freedom of this country.” But Faeser, the country's top security official, did not classify it as a “terrorist attack.”

Shortly after 9:30 p.m. on Friday, the police were informed that a man had attacked several people with a knife on the Fronhof, the city's central square.

Solingen, a city of around 160,000 inhabitants near the major cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf, held a “Festival of Diversity” to mark its 650th anniversary. It began on Friday and was scheduled to last until Sunday. Several stages in central streets offered attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics.

The attack occurred in the crowd in front of a stage. Hours later, the stage lights were still on while police and forensics searched the cordoned-off area for clues, but the rest of the festival was canceled.

“Last night broke our hearts. We in Solingen are filled with horror and sadness. What happened in our city yesterday is making it hard for us to sleep,” Solingen Mayor Tim Kurzbach told journalists on Saturday.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the perpetrator to be punished with the full force of the law.

“The attack in Solingen is a terrible event that has shocked me deeply. An attacker brutally killed several people. I have just spoken to Solingen's mayor, Tim Kurzbach. We mourn the victims and support their families,” Scholz said on Saturday on the social media platform X.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also spoke with the mayor on Saturday morning.

“The heinous act in Solingen shocks me and our country. We mourn the dead and worry about the injured. I wish them strength and a speedy recovery from the bottom of my heart,” Steinmeier said in a statement.

A decade after the militant terrorist group Islamic State declared its caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria, the extremists no longer control any land, have lost many prominent leaders and are rarely found in the headlines of the world press.

Yet the group continues to recruit members and claim responsibility for deadly attacks around the world, including deadly operations in Iran and Russia earlier this year that left dozens dead. Its sleeper cells in Syria and Iraq continue to carry out attacks against government forces in both countries, as well as against U.S.-backed Syrian fighters.

Liechtenstein reported from Vienna.