Frankfurt Shooter Admits To Shouting 'Allah Akbar'

According to the German public television broadcaster NDR, Arid Uka, the 21-year-old who shot to death two American servicemen at Frankfurt Airport on Wednesday and wounded two others, has admitted to shouting “‘Allah Akbar’ six or seven times” during the attack. An NDR press release cites Uka’s own statements to German investigators as contained in a German police report.

During questioning following his arrest, Uka is reported, furthermore, to have told police that he saw “terrible pictures” involving American soldiers in a video on the internet. The NDR press release continues:

On Arid U.’s account, the video shows American soldiers in Afghanistan plundering a house and raping a girl. After seeing the video, he “could not sleep the whole night,” he said. Arid U. claims, moreover, to have heard American soldiers at Frankfurt Airport speaking disparagingly about the Afghan population. The video and the behavior of the American soldiers are supposed to have “motivated him in particular to kill American soldiers heading to Afghanistan.”

According to German press reports, Uka worked at a mail distribution center at the airport.

A Facebook page maintained by Arid Uka under the name “Abu Reyyan” has been removed from the internet. Before the page disappeared, however, the Swiss-based Campusblog saved several screen captures of it. The Facebook friends list of Arid Uka reads like a “Who’s Who of the German Islamist scene,” Campusblog writes. Uka’s Facebook friends include the well-known German Muslim convert and Islamic fundamentalist preacher Pierre Vogel.

According to Campusblog, the friends list also included the rapper formerly known as Deso Dogg, who in 2010 gave up his rap career and adopted the name of Abu Maleq. In a January 7 comment to an article on Abu Maleq reportedly calling for Muslims to engage in jihad, Arid Uka, alias Abu Reyyan, wrote, “And even if someone would call for jihad, so what? That is part of this beautiful religion. One is permitted to fight Kufar [unbelievers] when one is attacked. Abu Maleq, I love you for Allah!”