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At least two people were killed when a speeding car drove blindly into a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg. 68 people are injured. Officials said that at least 15 of the injured are in serious condition.
According to the BBC, the eyewitnesses said that the situation after the attack was very terrible.
The car that was driving in a crowd of people was stopped only after reaching about 400 meters. The head of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Rainer Hazeloff, said that a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia was the suspected attacker.
The doctor has been detained by the police. The police said that the suspect, who has been living in Germany for 18 years, has a permanent residence permit. Local authorities suspect that the attack was deliberate. The police said that he is not involved in any Islamic extremist group so far.
An expert on counter-terrorism has said that it is too early to conclude that there is no involvement of a large network in the incident. In Europe, youth influenced by al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group used to carry out such attacks.
German Chancellor Olaf Solz is expected to visit the scene on Saturday . The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia has condemned the attack. French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his sorrow over the incident.
This is not the first time people have died in a car attack at a Christmas market in Germany. Eight years ago, a man with radical affiliations attacked a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people. 49 people were injured in the attack by the person who failed to get asylum in Germany.
In 2018, a gunman attacked a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, killing 5 people. Similarly, in 2016, a lorry was hit during the Bastille Day ceremony held in the city of Nice, France. 86 people died in that incident.
