Syrian asylum seeker blows himself injuring 12 people in Germany

Police said in a statement early Monday morning that  "a man, according to our current knowledge the perpetrator, died" in the blast outside a wine bar in the German town of Ansbach, where an open-air music festival was being held on Sunday night.

Twelve people were injured, three of them seriously. Ansbach Mayor Carda Seidel said the explosion was near an entrance to the festival. Around 2,500 people were attending the event, which was cancelled after the blast was heard at about 10 pm. local time.

“EVERYTHING TO PREVENT THIS VIOLENCE”

“It’s a further, horrific attack that will increase the already growing security concerns of our citizens. We must do everything possible to prevent the spread of such violence in our country by people who came here to ask for asylum”, Bavarian interior minister, Joachim Herrmann.

The minister said authorities were still investigating if the blast was an act of terrorism. "We can't rule it out," Herrmann said.

A police spokeswoman said at a press conference that the man is believed to have acted alone.

A SYRIAN ASYLUM SEEKER

The suspect, identified as a 27-year-old Syrian asylum seeker, arrived in Germany two years ago. His application for asylum was rejected last year but he had been allowed to remain temporarily in Germany and was living in an apartment in the town. He had twice before tried to commit suicide and had received psychiatric care.

A spokesman for the Ansbach prosecutor's office said the attacker's motive wasn't clear. "If there is an Islamic link or not is purely speculation at this point"

"Given that he had a backpack with explosives which also had many sharp-edged pieces of metal packed inside - which would be the case with a bomb intended to injure as many people as possible in the surrounding area - we must assume that this was not purely an act of suicide but rather that he wanted to bring disaster to as many people as possible", the minister affirmed.

TRAGIC WEEK IN GERMANY

The blast in Ansbach was Germany's fourth violent incident in a week. It occurred just after Friday night's gun attack in Munich which left nine people dead.

Also Sunday, a 21-year-old male refugee from Syria known to authorities for previous acts of violence killed one woman and injured five more people in the city of Reutlingen in southwest Germany.

Besides, last Monday, a man armed with an axe attacked travellers on a train near Würzburg. Five people were injured in that attack, which was claimed by Daesh.