German police informed the interior ministry of a potential ‘terrorist threat in form of a suicide-attack’ by Anis Amri nine months before he drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market.
The State Criminal Office in North Rhine-Westphalia made Amri’s intentions known to authorities in March 2016.
In a confidential letter, seen by Bild am Sonntag, police stated that “according to the data available so far, the forecast can be made that Amri poses a terrorist threat in the form of a (suicide) attack,” citing as evidence some messages the future attacker sent in a chat on February 2, which was monitored by law enforcement.
‘Amri presents a threat in the form of a suicide attack. The commission of a terrorist attack by Amri is expected.’
The letter went on to suggest deportation and contained evidence of a tapped phone conversation he had in February in which Amri used the word ‘Dougma’ – a metaphor, say German spies, that Islamists use to mean a ‘suicide bombing’.
In light of the recent revelations, Jäger, a left wing politician, has been blasted as a security risk for Germany by rivals for failing to pass on the details of the threat.
Armin Laschet, chief of the CDU conservatives in the state, said: ‘He presents a risk for everyone in Germany.’
