German Christmas Market attack: A tragic incident occurred at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday evening, where a Saudi Arabian doctor deliberately drove into a crowd, resulting in the deaths of at least two people, including a small child, and injuring dozens more. Authorities have indicated that this was a targeted attack.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry has condemned Friday’s attack in a German Christmas market. The White House is also closely monitoring the situation in Germany.

German Christmas Market Attack: Who is the Attacker?

The driver of the car was immediately arrested, and later identified as Taleb A, a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia. Taleb A first came to Germany in 2006 and worked as a doctor in a small town 25 miles south of Magdeburg, officials said.

In the attack, a black BMW drove straight into the crowd at the Christmas market, travelling at speed for 400 metres in the direction of the town hall, according to eyewitnesses cited by a German broadcaster. Video of the attack emerged on social media. 

(Mint could not independently verify the authenticity of the video)

The suspect rented the car shortly before the attack, according to reports citing a security source, and was not known to authorities as having an Islamist background.

The German Police immediately arrested Taleb. A video of the same emerged on social media, which was also shared by several German broadcasters.

German Christmas market Attack: Death, Injuries

Two people More than 65 people were injured, 14 of them severely, said Michael Reif, the spokesman for Magdeburg. The authorities say they believe it was a deliberate attack. They are working to determine a motive, said Reiner Haseloff, the governor of Saxony-Anhalt state, where Magdeburg is the capital.

Germany Faces Threats From Middle East Crisis?

Before leaving his post in November, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Thomas Haldenwang, warned that the country’s threat level was higher because of the war in Middle East.

“The danger is real and more acute than it has been in a long time,” he said at the time.

German Christmas Market

More than 1,000 temporary Christmas markets pop up every year in Germany, and they have been the target of terrorists in the past. Last month, the police in Germany arrested two teenagers suspected of exchanging plans about attacking a Christmas market, but those alleged plans appear to have nothing to do with the attack on Friday.

In 2016, an extremist rammed a truck into a crowd in Berlin, killing 13. Since then, the police have secured many Christmas markets with temporary barriers.

Germany is home to an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 Christmas markets which are hosted around the country for about a month, from the end of November to just after Christmas.