German prosecutors name and charge suspect after knife attack at a festival

nme.com:

The stabbings took place at around 9:40pm on Friday night (August 23) at the Festival of Diversity in Solingen in western Germany.

Early police reports said they believed the stabbings were carried out by a lone attacker, who then fled the scene, leading to a huge manhunt in the area overnight.A 56-year-old woman and two men, aged 56 and 67, died following the attack in the city of Solingen on Friday.Now, German prosecutors have named Syrian national Issa Al H as a suspect.

Officers in Dusseldorf said the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack”.He is accused of being “a member of a terrorist organisation abroad”, with prosecutors saying he shares the “ideology of Islamic State” (IS), per Sky News.He has also been charged with three counts of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm in eight cases.The 26-year-old, who had applied for asylum, reportedly handed himself in to police following a large-scale overnight manhunt involving several police forces and special units.Yesterday, it was reported that The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the attack.In a statement on their Telegram account, they said that the attack was carried out by one of its members “in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere”, per Reuters.They did not immediately provide any evidence and it is not yet clear how close any relationship between the attacker and Islamic State was.

Accounts and individuals claiming to speak for the Islamic State have falsely claimed responsibility for attacks in the past.On Saturday (August 24) a 15-year-old was arrested in connection with the attack, though police stated at the time that he was not believed to be the prime suspect.In a press conference, public prosecutor Markus.