Suicide Bomber Detonates Self During a Musical Concert

A 27-year-old man from Syria died on Sunday in the German town of Ansbach when a bomb he had on him exploded.
The minister of the interior, Joachim Herrman, confirmed that it was a suicide bomb attack. No one died except the bomber but 12 people were injured, three seriously. The bomb went off just outside a music festival. According to reports the bomber, whose name hasn’t yet been announced, arrived in Germany from war-torn Syria two years ago and applied for asylum. His application was refused. But he could stay on in Germany because German law states that asylum seekers can’t be sent back to countries where war is raging.

 According to authorities the attacker’s backpack had been full of screws and nails, possibly placed there to cause as much damage as possible. Joachim says it’s not yet clear if the man planned to kill himself only or others too. It’s believed he hoped to carrying out his attack inside the festival. The attacker was allegedly known to the local police because he’d broken the law before. He’d previously tried to commit suicide but was unsuccessful. Joachim has confirmed that the case is being treated as a suicide bomb attack, not a suicide.

The possibility that the suicide was an Islamic-inspired attack hasn’t been ruled out. Shortly after the explosion about 2500 festival-goers were evacuated from the area. The bombing was the fourth attack in Germany in the past week. On Friday an 18-year-old shot dead nine people outside a shopping centre in Munich. On Sunday a Syrian refugee murdered a pregnant woman and injured two others with a panga.