German prosecutors on Thursday charged the suspect behind a fatal knife attack at a local festival in the western German city of Solingen.
The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Issa Al H., was charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and membership in the "Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
" (IS) terror group.
The Solingen knife attack and a series of similar incidents shook Germany and fueled the heated political debate about migration and deportation in the months leading up to last week's federal election.
WHAT HAPPENED IN SOLINGEN?
On the evening of August 23, 2024, three people were killed and 10 others injured at an outdoor festival celebrating Solingen's 650th anniversary.
The mills of Justice grinding slowly…
The suspect, a Syrian citizen, is accused of deliberately stabbing festival visitors with a knife.Issa Al H. was arrested after a day-long manhunt. He has remained in jug ever since.
Within days of the stabbing rampage, prosecutors said they believed the attacker had radical Islamist beliefs and tried to kill as many people as possible because he considered them non-believers.
Islamic State grabbed credit for the attack.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE SOLINGEN KNIFE ATTACK SUSPECT?
Issa Al H. had been slated for deportation from Germany to Bulgaria in 2023 under EU rules known as the Dublin regulation.
But he evaded law enforcement and managed to remain in the country. No further effort to deport him was made.
A committee of inquiry in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia is investigating why the deportation to Bulgaria, which had been planned long before the attack, did not take place.
Related:
Solingen: 2025-02-15 Number of victims in Munich car crash into crowd rises to 36
Solingen: 2024-12-11 Germany arrests suspected Islamist extremists over attack plot
Solingen: 2024-11-13 Germany detains teen with ‘extremist Islamic views’ over suspected attack plot
Solingen: 2025-02-15 Number of victims in Munich car crash into crowd rises to 36
Solingen: 2024-12-11 Germany arrests suspected Islamist extremists over attack plot
Solingen: 2024-11-13 Germany detains teen with ‘extremist Islamic views’ over suspected attack plot
Related:
Issa Al H 09/01/2024 Germany's hard-right AfD set for huge gains in key state elections amid mounting fury over deadly festival stabbing rampage by failed Syrian asylum seeker
Issa Al H 08/28/2024 Germany Mass Stabbing Suspect Pledged to ISIS, Groundswell to Mandate Enforcing Deportation Orders
Issa Al H 08/25/2024 ISIS claims responsibility for German festival attack, Syrian knifeman turns himself in
Issa Al H 09/01/2024 Germany's hard-right AfD set for huge gains in key state elections amid mounting fury over deadly festival stabbing rampage by failed Syrian asylum seeker
Issa Al H 08/28/2024 Germany Mass Stabbing Suspect Pledged to ISIS, Groundswell to Mandate Enforcing Deportation Orders
Issa Al H 08/25/2024 ISIS claims responsibility for German festival attack, Syrian knifeman turns himself in