Germany Festival Assailant Pledged Allegiance to Daesh

Local Editor

A Syrian man whose asylum bid had been rejected in Germany recorded a cellphone video of himself pledging allegiance to Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the terrorist "ISIS" group] before he tried to get into an outdoor concert with a bomb-laden backpack.

He was turned away and blew himself up outside a wine bar instead, injuring 15 people, authorities said Monday.

Relatively, Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.

It was the fourth attack to shake Germany in a week - three of them carried out by recent migrants.

The 27-year-old, whom authorities have not identified, set off a backpack laden with explosives and shrapnel Sunday night after being refused entry to the nearby festival in the Bavarian city of Ansbach because he didn't have a ticket.

Bavarian authorities said a video found on the Ansbach bomber's phone showed him pledging allegiance to the Takfiri militant group.

Germany's top security official, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, said it was too early to rule out terrorism as a motive, but noted that the suspect had twice attempted suicide and had been receiving psychological care.

The Daesh-linked Amaq news agency said the man carried out the attack in response to calls by the group to target countries of the US-led coalition that is fighting Daesh.

The bombing was the latest of the recent attacks that have heightened concerns about how Germany can deal with the estimated 1 million migrants who entered the country last year.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team