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| Suicide Bomber in Ansbach, Germany, Pledged Loyalty to ISIS, Officials Say | Suicide Bomber in Ansbach, Germany, Pledged Loyalty to ISIS, Officials Say |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| ANSBACH, Germany — A 27-year-old Syrian who blew himself up on Sunday evening at an open-air music festival in southern Germany, injuring 15 people, had recorded a cellphone video in which he professed loyalty to the Islamic State, officials said on Monday. | ANSBACH, Germany — A 27-year-old Syrian who blew himself up on Sunday evening at an open-air music festival in southern Germany, injuring 15 people, had recorded a cellphone video in which he professed loyalty to the Islamic State, officials said on Monday. |
| The man, who entered Germany in 2014 as a refugee but was denied asylum, set off an explosion around 10 p.m. on Sunday at a bar outside the entrance to the festival, which was attended by about 2,000 people. Four of the 15 wounded in the blast were hospitalized with grave injuries. | The man, who entered Germany in 2014 as a refugee but was denied asylum, set off an explosion around 10 p.m. on Sunday at a bar outside the entrance to the festival, which was attended by about 2,000 people. Four of the 15 wounded in the blast were hospitalized with grave injuries. |
| In the video that the authorities found on his cellphone, the attacker, speaking in Arabic, said he “attests to his affiliation with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of the state of Bavaria, said at a news conference in Nuremberg. Mr. Baghdadi is the leader of the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS or ISIL. | In the video that the authorities found on his cellphone, the attacker, speaking in Arabic, said he “attests to his affiliation with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of the state of Bavaria, said at a news conference in Nuremberg. Mr. Baghdadi is the leader of the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS or ISIL. |
| “He threatens a specific act of revenge against the Germans, because they stand in the way of Islam, as revenge for the killing of Muslims,” Mr. Herrmann added. | “He threatens a specific act of revenge against the Germans, because they stand in the way of Islam, as revenge for the killing of Muslims,” Mr. Herrmann added. |
| On Monday afternoon, the Islamic State claimed responsibility, as it did after the attacks on July 14 in Nice, France, and last Monday in Würzburg, Germany, where a 17-year-old Afghan refugee wielding an ax wounded four passengers on a train and then a woman walking her dog before police officers fatally shot him. | On Monday afternoon, the Islamic State claimed responsibility, as it did after the attacks on July 14 in Nice, France, and last Monday in Würzburg, Germany, where a 17-year-old Afghan refugee wielding an ax wounded four passengers on a train and then a woman walking her dog before police officers fatally shot him. |
| The Islamic State has urged Muslims to indiscriminately attack civilians in countries participating in the United States-led coalition fighting the group in Iraq and Syria. The exhortation has seemed to resonate with a number of people prone to mental illness, like the attacker in Nice, who had been treated in his native Tunisia for psychosis and depression. In Berlin on Monday, Germany’s interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, cautioned that “in the Ansbach incident, neither a link to international Islamic State terrorism nor a mental disorder of the perpetrator can be ruled out,” adding, “It could be a combination of both.” | The Islamic State has urged Muslims to indiscriminately attack civilians in countries participating in the United States-led coalition fighting the group in Iraq and Syria. The exhortation has seemed to resonate with a number of people prone to mental illness, like the attacker in Nice, who had been treated in his native Tunisia for psychosis and depression. In Berlin on Monday, Germany’s interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, cautioned that “in the Ansbach incident, neither a link to international Islamic State terrorism nor a mental disorder of the perpetrator can be ruled out,” adding, “It could be a combination of both.” |
| Germany has been deeply unsettled by two other violent attacks — evidently unrelated to the Islamic State — in recent days: On Friday, a mentally disturbed 18-year-old who was a dual German and Iranian citizen fatally shot nine people in Munich before killing himself; and earlier on Sunday, a 21-year-old Syrian refugee killed a woman with a machete in Reutlingen, in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. | Germany has been deeply unsettled by two other violent attacks — evidently unrelated to the Islamic State — in recent days: On Friday, a mentally disturbed 18-year-old who was a dual German and Iranian citizen fatally shot nine people in Munich before killing himself; and earlier on Sunday, a 21-year-old Syrian refugee killed a woman with a machete in Reutlingen, in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. |
| In Germany, there is a strong separation of powers between the federal and state governments. Officials in Berlin and in the southern state of Bavaria have been careful not to lump together the string of attacks. | In Germany, there is a strong separation of powers between the federal and state governments. Officials in Berlin and in the southern state of Bavaria have been careful not to lump together the string of attacks. |
| But the fact that recent migrants were involved in three of the four prominent attacks over the last week was certain to reignite debate about immigration — Bavaria has been a point of entry and a destination for many of the more than one million migrants who have sought refuge in Germany since the start of last year — and about the role of police and intelligence services in maintaining order in a country that cherishes not only stability but also privacy. | But the fact that recent migrants were involved in three of the four prominent attacks over the last week was certain to reignite debate about immigration — Bavaria has been a point of entry and a destination for many of the more than one million migrants who have sought refuge in Germany since the start of last year — and about the role of police and intelligence services in maintaining order in a country that cherishes not only stability but also privacy. |
| “Bavaria is experiencing days of terror,” the state’s governor, Horst Seehofer, wrote on Facebook on Monday. “Our thoughts are with those injured by the insidious and brutal bombing in Ansbach.” | “Bavaria is experiencing days of terror,” the state’s governor, Horst Seehofer, wrote on Facebook on Monday. “Our thoughts are with those injured by the insidious and brutal bombing in Ansbach.” |
| He added: “The constitutional state will not retreat. Prudent in enlightenment, but determined in action — this is our guiding principle. The safety of our citizens is the highest priority.” | He added: “The constitutional state will not retreat. Prudent in enlightenment, but determined in action — this is our guiding principle. The safety of our citizens is the highest priority.” |
| The man had entered Germany last year after passing through Bulgaria, where he was fingerprinted, and he had been denied asylum in Germany. | The man had entered Germany last year after passing through Bulgaria, where he was fingerprinted, and he had been denied asylum in Germany. |
| As a policy, Germany does not send Syrians who are denied asylum back to Syria, on account of the civil war there, but it would have been possible to send him back to Bulgaria, his point of entry into the European Union. | As a policy, Germany does not send Syrians who are denied asylum back to Syria, on account of the civil war there, but it would have been possible to send him back to Bulgaria, his point of entry into the European Union. |
| “It is correct that Syrians cannot be deported to Syria at this point, this is out of the question, but that does not mean that Syrians cannot be deported at all,” Tobias Plate, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said in Berlin on Monday. The Syrian refugee who killed himself in Ansbach had been notified of his impending deportation to Bulgaria, but “I can’t at this point tell you why the deportation has not been carried out,” Mr. Plate said. | “It is correct that Syrians cannot be deported to Syria at this point, this is out of the question, but that does not mean that Syrians cannot be deported at all,” Tobias Plate, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said in Berlin on Monday. The Syrian refugee who killed himself in Ansbach had been notified of his impending deportation to Bulgaria, but “I can’t at this point tell you why the deportation has not been carried out,” Mr. Plate said. |
| Carda Seidel, the mayor of Ansbach, a city of roughly 50,000 that is home to 644 refugees, said that the bomber had received two deportation orders, most recently on July 13. | Carda Seidel, the mayor of Ansbach, a city of roughly 50,000 that is home to 644 refugees, said that the bomber had received two deportation orders, most recently on July 13. |
| Mubariz Mahmood, 28, an asylum-seeker from Pakistan who lived in the same shelter as the bomber, identified him as Mohammad Daleel, a name that also appears on a list of residents outside the building, a former hotel that has been converted to house migrants. | Mubariz Mahmood, 28, an asylum-seeker from Pakistan who lived in the same shelter as the bomber, identified him as Mohammad Daleel, a name that also appears on a list of residents outside the building, a former hotel that has been converted to house migrants. |
| In an interview, Mr. Mahmood said Mr. Daleel told him that he had come to Germany via Bulgaria. | In an interview, Mr. Mahmood said Mr. Daleel told him that he had come to Germany via Bulgaria. |
| Mr. Mahmood said he had spoken several times with Mr. Daleel and had never had any problems with him. “I am shocked,” he said. “When I heard it was him, I was thinking: How could he do this?” | Mr. Mahmood said he had spoken several times with Mr. Daleel and had never had any problems with him. “I am shocked,” he said. “When I heard it was him, I was thinking: How could he do this?” |
| He said he last saw Mr. Daleel early on Saturday, after Mr. Mahmood had returned from his late work shift at a McDonald’s. | He said he last saw Mr. Daleel early on Saturday, after Mr. Mahmood had returned from his late work shift at a McDonald’s. |
| In the cobblestone streets of the historic center of Ansbach, shops opened on Monday, and people went about their business. But some glanced warily at the heavy police presence. Red-and-white tape blocked off the streets leading to Pfarrstrasse, a narrow street running behind a church that boasts one of the oldest organs in the area and is close to the site of the attack. | |
| Ms. Seidel, the mayor, said the man appeared to deliberately avoid security officials who were searching bags. | Ms. Seidel, the mayor, said the man appeared to deliberately avoid security officials who were searching bags. |
| Winfried Bausback, the justice minister of Bavaria, wrote on Facebook on Monday that the ax attack in Würzburg and the suicide blast in Ansbach “show that Islamic terror has reached Germany.” He added: “Our democratic and liberal constitutional state has to adapt to this,” and he urged greater resources for police and border officers. | Winfried Bausback, the justice minister of Bavaria, wrote on Facebook on Monday that the ax attack in Würzburg and the suicide blast in Ansbach “show that Islamic terror has reached Germany.” He added: “Our democratic and liberal constitutional state has to adapt to this,” and he urged greater resources for police and border officers. |