German terror attack: Syrian with 'terror links' on truck rampage in Limburg injuring nine
GERMANY has been hit by a suspected terror attack after a truck driver went on a rampage ploughing into several cars, injuring nine people.
Germany: Emergency services attend scene of lorry crash
The stolen lorry, a white Mercedes, rammed into eight cars that were queuing at traffic lights near the railway station in Limburg, a town in western Germany, "crushing them together". Police said in a statement: “Based on what we have learned and several witness accounts, the man seized control of the truck at about 5:20 pm (1520 GMT).”
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German security authorities said they are treating the incident as a terror attack, according to ZDF.
But police have not yet confirmed links to terror - instead urging people not to speculate.
Police in West Hesse tweeted: "At the moment a large police operation is ongoing in Limburg.
Nine people, including the driver, have been injured. One person remains in hospital.
FNP reported "passers-by said the driver said 'Allah' several times" and spoke Arabic. But police did not confirm this account.
The driver, who is in his early 30s and from Syria, has been arrested.
The shaken owner of the truck told Frankfurt Neue Presse: "A man dragged me out of my truck."
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He told how the man, described as in his 30s with short dark hair and a full beard, yanked open the driver-side door and stared at him wide-eyed before dragging him out of the lorry.
The truck owner told FNP: "I asked him 'What do you want from me?'
"He didn't say a word."
Bettina Yeisley from Limburg, who worked near the scene of the crash, told FNP that she heard a loud bang and ran out onto the street. She said they found a man sitting beneath a tree without knowing he had been behind the wheel.
Ms Yeisley told FNP: "He was bleeding from the nose, his hands were bloody, his trousers torn. He said that everything hurt. I asked him his name and he said, 'My name is Mohammed'."
The driver, who is in his early 30s and from Syria, has been arrested.
Police earlier said: "We currently do not have sufficient information about what was behind it.
"The investigation, including questioning witnesses and collecting evidence, is ongoing."
The Mayor of Limburg, Marius Hahn (SPD), told the German Press Agency: "I am shocked and my thoughts are with the injured accident victims and their families."
Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg
