Islamic State claims Solingen attack – DW – 08/24/2024

The jihadist group Islamic State claimed responsibility this Saturday (08/24/2024) for an attack in the western German city of Solingen on Friday that killed three people and injured eight. Through a brief statement, the group said the attack was revenge for “Muslims in Palestine”.

An anonymous security source informed IS’s propaganda organ, Amaq Agency, that “the author of yesterday’s attack against a group of Christians in the German city of Solingen is a soldier of the Islamic State.” The informant explained, without giving further details, that the perpetrator, whom he has not identified and who is still at large, carried out the attack “to take revenge for Palestine and Muslims everywhere.”

German authorities are making huge efforts to trace the whereabouts of the person responsible for the attack, which took place at around 9:40 pm on Friday night near a stage where a concert was being held to mark the 650th anniversary of the founding of the city. However, the statements of the jihadists have no official connection with the German authorities.

did not provide evidence

The radical group did not provide any evidence for its claims and there is no clarity about the attacker’s possible connection to the Islamic State. Shortly before, Minister President Hendrik Wüst of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Solingen is located, described the attack as a “terrorist act”.

The authority said, “This attack has struck at the heart of our nation.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for his part, said that it is essential that the attacker “be caught as quickly as possible and condemned with the full force of the law.” Meanwhile, Solingen Mayor Tim-Oliver Kurzbach told the press that “we are all shocked and hurt” by what happened at the city’s celebration.

DZC (EFE, Reuters)