The Munich Car Attack: Terror Motive Confirmed

-NOS.nl

The injury toll from yesterday's car attack in Munich by an Afghan asylum-seeker now stands at 36 with one (a 2-year-old girl) in critical condition.

Yesterday we cross-posted a video on X uncovered by Vlad Tepes blog showed the suspect being restrained by police while praying the Shehada (Islamic profession of faith) and repeatedly shouting, "Allahu Akhbar". This morning, both German and Dutch news outlets are reporting that German police assume the attack was "Islamist"-inspired since the attacker was, in fact, praying and repeating, "Allahu Akhbar." 

Apparently, some sources were disputing the authenticity of the video yesterday since different shots showed the suspect being restrained alongside his car and also some feet away from his car. The news reports below would seem to confirm the authenticity of the video. It is assumed that police initially restrained the suspect next to his car then moved him a few feet away from the scene (where victims were being treated). It is at the second location that the suspect, Farhad N., began praying and repeating, "Allahu Akhbar".

We have translated one relevant paragraph each from Welt (Germany) and NOS (Netherlands).

From Welt:

"Meanwhile, investigators now assume an "Islamist motivation for the act". At the time of his arrest, N. shouted, 'Allahu Akhbar' and prayed, said the senior public prosecutor of the Munich General Public Prosecutor's Office, Gabriele Tilmann."

Die Ermittler gehen inzwischen von einer „islamistischen Tatmotivation“ aus. N. habe bei seiner Festnahme „Allahu Akbar“ gerufen und gebetet, sagte die leitende Oberstaatsanwältin Gabriele Tilmann von der Generalstaatsanwaltschaft München.

From NOS:

"The man's statement points to a religious act, said senior officer Gabriele Tilmann. He said, 'Allahu Akhbar' (God is great in Arabic) to the police and began to pray. That was the reason for the Extremism and Terrorism section of Bavarian Justice to take over the case. 'I would go so far as to speak of an Islamist motivation for his act,' said Tilmann."

De verklaring van de man wijst op een religieuze daad, aldus hoofdofficier Gabriele Tilmann. Tegenover de politie zei hij "Allahoe akbar" ("God is groot" in het Arabisch) waarna hij begon te bidden. Dat was voor de afdeling binnen de Beierse justitie die zich bezighoudt met extremisme en terreur aanleiding de zaak over te nemen. "Ik zou durven spreken van een islamitische motivatie voor zijn daad", zei Tilman.

*Update: From France 24 (France)

"This Afghan, identified under the name Farhad Noori, shouted, "Allahu Akhbar!" (God is great) after his arrest by police and then prayed, the authorities say."

Cet Afghan, identifié sous le nom de Farhad Noori, a crié "Allah Akhbar !" ("Dieu est grand") après son arrestation par les policiers et a ensuite prié, ont raconté les autorités.

* Update: From 7 sur 7 (Belgium)

Below is a paragraph from an article by the French-language Belgian daily, 7 sur 7. They quote the German magazine, Der Spiegel, that the driver's social media postings indicate that he is radicalized. The Der Spiegel article itself, while linked by 7 sur 7, is not available due to a subscriber block. Therefore, we have translated the relevant paragraph from 7 sur 7.

"According to information from Der Spiegel magazine, the individual was reportedly radicalized. He also reportedly posted messages of an Islamist character before proceeding to the act. A few days earlier, he had shared videos from a Salafist and wrote in a post: "Eradicate all those who are bad for Islam." According to Der Tagesspiegel, he also reportedly followed hundreds of accounts disseminating Islamic content on Instagram. On TikTok, he re-posted this type of videos almost exclusively."

 Selon les informations du magazine Der Spiegel, l’individu se serait radicalisé. Il aurait d’ailleurs posté des messages à caractère islamiste avant de passer à l’acte. Quelques jours plus tôt, il avait partagé les vidéos d’un salafiste et a écrit dans un post: “Éradiquez tous ceux qui sont mauvais pour l’islam”. Selon Der Tagesspiegel, il suivait également des centaines de comptes diffusant du contenu islamique sur Instagram. Sur Tiktok, il repostait presque exclusivement ce type de vidéos.

-7sur7 (Belgium)