SERIES OF CRASHES ON MAJOR BERLIN ROAD AN 'ISLAMIST EXTREMIST ATTACK'

 Sky News 19 August 2020

A series of crashes caused by a 30-year-old Iraqi man on a major road in Berlin was an Islamist extremist attack, German prosecutors have said.

© Getty A series of car crashes took place on highway A100

Six people were injured, three of them severely, when the man allegedly drove into several vehicles, including a motorbike, along a stretch of the city's motorway on Tuesday evening.

© Reuters Three people were severely injured in the crashes

The crashes at three different locations lead to a complete closure of one of the main traffic arteries in the German capital and caused long traffic jams.

© Reuters Police officers investigating the scene of the crashes on Tuesday evening

"According to the current state of our investigation, this was an Islamist-motivated attack," Germany's public prosecutor's office told news agency dpa.

The suspect's identity was not revealed, as is customary in Germany, and he is being investigated for attempted murder.

There were reports that the suspect was suffering from psychological problems, dpa reported.

It was also reported that the man, who was driving an Opel Astra, later stopped on the motorway and put a box on the roof of his car before claiming it contained explosives.

However, when specialists opened the box, they only found tools.

The man was detained by police.

German media also reported that the man shouted "allahu akbar" or "God is great" as he got out of his car.

One of the people injured is in a life-threatening condition, dpa reported.

Around 300 people were stuck on the motorway for hours and were getting support from the German Red Cross, according to the Berlin fire department.