Iran Censures Terrorist Attack in Berlin

At least 12 people were killed and nearly 50 more injured when a truck plowed into a popular Christmas market packed with tourists as well as local shoppers outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church near Berlin’s Zoo station late Monday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Tuesday reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s resolve to fight extremism and violence with the aim of uprooting terrorism.

He said all nations and states in the world must reinforce their unity and engage in a “relentless, purposeful and sincere” campaign against terrorism until its complete eradication.

The Iranian spokesperson expressed his sympathy with the bereaved families of the victims and hoped no such heartrending events would occur again.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday summoned the country’s top security authorities for talks on how the government should respond to the truck attack in Berlin.

She said, “There is still a lot that we don’t know about this act with sufficient certainty. But we must, as things stand, assume it was a terrorist attack.”

Police officers have reportedly detained a man, identified as a Pakistani citizen, about two kilometers from the crash scene on suspicion of having been at the wheel of the truck.

According to German media, the Pakistani man was a refugee who had entered the country either in December 2015 or February 2016, but police authorities have declined to confirm such reports.

This is while Germany’s Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere announced earlier on Tuesday that the suspect in custody had denied involvement in the attack.