Smartencyclopedia Staff & Agencies
SOLINGEN, Germany — The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS, has claimed responsibility for a knife attack in Solingen, Germany, that left three people dead and eight others injured. The attack occurred on Friday evening during celebrations marking Solingen’s 650th anniversary.
According to ISIL’s Amaq news agency, the perpetrator targeted Christians and was described as a “soldier of the Islamic State” who carried out the attack “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.” The victims included one woman and two men.
Authorities in Germany are still searching for the individual responsible for the attack. Markus Caspers, from the counterterrorism section of the public prosecutor’s office, stated at a news conference on Saturday that the motive behind the attack has not been fully determined, but the possibility of terrorism has not been ruled out.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested on Saturday after two female witnesses reported overhearing a conversation that suggested the boy had prior knowledge of the attack. However, the main perpetrator remains at large, prompting police to continue their investigation, including a raid on a local asylum seeker’s residence.
Thorsten Fleiss, who led the police operations on Friday night, emphasized the challenges in gathering and analyzing the available evidence and witness testimonies. The police have also urged the public to remain vigilant.
Germany’s Minister of the Interior and Community, Nancy Faeser, visited Solingen on Saturday evening, expressing solidarity with the city and promising government support. “We will not allow such an awful attack to divide our society,” she said, alongside the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wust, who described the incident as “an act of terror against the security and freedom of this country.”
The attack has prompted the cancellation of the remainder of the Festival of Diversity, which was set to run through Sunday. The festival was part of the city’s 650th-anniversary celebrations, featuring live music, cabaret, and acrobatics across multiple stages in Solingen’s central streets.
The local community has responded with an outpouring of grief and solidarity. Candles and flowers have been placed at the scene of the attack, while churches in Solingen have opened their doors for prayer and emergency pastoral care. An online portal has also been established for witnesses to upload footage and provide any information relevant to the investigation.
Solingen Mayor Tim-Oliver Kurzbach expressed the community’s sorrow, saying, “We are full of shock and grief.”
ISIL, which once controlled large territories in Iraq and Syria, has previously claimed responsibility for various attacks around the world, sometimes even for incidents where their involvement was not substantiated. The group faced a major territorial defeat in 2017 but continues to inspire and claim acts of violence globally.