At Least 30 People Injured in Car Attack in Germany

At least 30 people have been injured, some seriously, after a car was driven into a crowd in Munich, Germany, just a week before the country’s federal elections.

Police say the driver was a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, identified in the media as Farhad N. He was arrested at the scene.

Police say counter-terrorism officers have taken over the investigation due to indications that the suspect had “extremist tendencies.”

It comes after a series of deadly attacks in Germany – some of which are believed to have been carried out by migrants. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the driver “must be punished and must leave the country.”

The incident occurred on the eve of the Munich Security Conference – world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance, are expected to arrive in the city.

The incident occurred during a transport workers’ union meeting on Thursday.

The car attack is reigniting the debate over immigration and security issues in the campaign for the federal election scheduled for February 23.

According to the German Press Agency, the suspect arrived in Germany in 2016 as a minor and his asylum application was rejected the following year. The agency says he was scheduled to be deported in 2020.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann has said he has not been forced to leave Germany due to security concerns in Afghanistan.

Munich police say the suspect had a valid residence permit at the time of the incident.

The incident comes just months after an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg in December, which left six people dead and 300 injured.

By: BBC