A manhunt is underway in Germany for 23-year old Tunisian Anis Amri, sought for his possible connection to this week’s horrific terror attack on a Berlin Christmas market that killed 12 people and injured dozens more.
Amri was already known to German police for involvement in an ISIS cell, and had been under police surveillance.
If Amri’s involvement is confirmed, this would make the Berlin attack the most recent case of what I have termed “Known Wolf” terrorism, and would mark the eighth such incident this year:
JUST IN: Law enforcement sources tell @CBSNews that police are searching for Anis Amri in deadly #Berlin attack. https://t.co/JxYOkthWCB pic.twitter.com/czBprqskTT
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) December 21, 2016
Berlin masscare suspect Anis Amri is probably armed and ‘highly dangerous’, security sources say https://t.co/h3SASJKmDU pic.twitter.com/iidGKqFUmm
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) December 21, 2016
Police hunt Tunisian suspect after finding ID papers in truck #BerlinAttack https://t.co/78UXRXBtn2
— WETM-TV (@WETM18News) December 21, 2016
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Authorities on Wednesday were seeking a 23-year-old Tunisian man who had been on the radar of intelligence services since last year as a suspect in the deadly truck attack at Berlin’s Christmas market, a German security official said.
The man, identified as Anis A., had entered Germany in July 2015 and applied for asylum, the official said. He got temporary approval to stay in Germany even though his asylum application was rejected, the official said.
German authorities had classified him as a potentially violent follower of the fundamentalist Salafi strain of Islam, and suspected ties to Islamic State, the official said.
Another security official confirmed police were seeking the man. Investigators pinpointed him as their suspect after finding his residency permit in the cab of the truck used in the attack, they said. But the document was only found on Tuesday, during a more thorough search of the truck than the one that took place in the aftermath of the attack the previous night, according to one of the officials.
The Tunisian man had used a number of different identities while in Germany, also claiming on some occasions that he was Egyptian or Lebanese, officials said.
Media reports indicate that Amri was already considered dangerous, and had asked a police informant to illegally acquire weapons:
@abususu @SPIEGELONLINE plus he was under surveillance and asked a Police informant for weapons. pic.twitter.com/d80OtjYPFh
— Bob Roberts (@GabiElenaDohm) December 21, 2016
The Ministry of Internal Affairs for Northrhine Westphalia made a statement earlier today about what was previously known about Amri:
Statement von #NRW Innenminister Jäger aus aktuellem Anlass https://t.co/1D6pZI2fVB
— Staatskanzlei NRW (@NRWpunktDE) December 21, 2016
@jenanmoussa >”his asylum request was denied in July 2016,but he could not be sent back to Tunesia because his papers were missing.He moved
— Andrea (@Walrathis) December 21, 2016
@jenanmoussa “suspected that he was planning actions against state security.Further info can not be given, because of investigative reasons”
— Andrea (@Walrathis) December 21, 2016
As regular PJ Media readers would note, I first identified and termed the ongoing trend of “Known Wolf” terrorism — individuals committing terrorist acts who were already known to law enforcement and national security authorities — back in October 2014.
This year alone, I’ve reported on the following “Known Wolf” incidents: Columbus, Ohio; Orlando, Florida; Normandy, France; Ontario, Canada; Strasbourg, France; Roanoke, Virginia; and New York/New Jersey.
Note that four of the above seven cases in 2016 occurred here in the United States.
Additionally, in September I documented a dozen cases of “Known Wolf” terrorism in the U.S. under the Obama administration:
Here are links to my previous reporting on the “Known Wolf” terror problem:
Oct. 24, 2014: ‘Lone Wolf’ or ‘Known Wolf’: The Ongoing Counter-Terrorism Failure
Dec. 15, 2014: Sydney Hostage Taker Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Syndrome
Jan. 7, 2015: Paris Terror Attack Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Syndrome
Feb. 3, 2015: French Police Terror Attacker Yesterday Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Syndrome
Feb. 15, 2015: Copenhagen Killer Was yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
Feb. 26, 2015: Islamic State Beheader ‘Jihadi John’ Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
Apr. 22, 2015: Botched Attack on Paris Churches Another Case of “Known Wolf” Terrorism
May 4, 2015: Texas Attack Is Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
June 26, 2015: France’s Beheading Terrorist Was Well-Known By Authorities
July 16, 2015: Report: Chattanooga Jihadist Was Yet Another ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorist, Anonymous Feds Dispute
Aug. 22, 2015: European Train Attacker Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
Oct 14, 2015: Yet Again: Turkey, Israel Terror Attacks Committed by “Known Wolves”
Nov 14, 2015: One Paris Attacker Was Previously Known to Authorities, Marks Fifth ‘Known Wolf” Attack in France This Year
Feb 16, 2016: Machete Attack in Ohio Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
May 16, 2016: News Reports Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ U.S. Terrorists
June 12, 2016: Orlando Night Club Attack by “Known Wolf” Terrorist Previously Investigated by FBI
July 14, 2016: Senate Intelligence Committee to Investigate “Known Wolf” Terrorism Problem
July 26, 2016: ISIS Suspect in Normandy Priest’s Killing Already Known to French Authorities
August 10, 2016: Canadian ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorist Planned Suicide Bombing of Major City, Killed in Overnight Police Operation
August 19, 2016: Man Who Stabbed Rabbi Thursday in Strasbourg, France Involved in Prior Attack
Sept. 20, 2016: NY-NJ Bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami Already Known to Law Enforcement Authorities
Sept. 28, 2016: “Known Wolf” SCANDAL: In at Least 12 of the 14 Terror Attacks Under Obama, FBI Already Knew Attackers
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