German prosecutors free Berlin market attack suspect

Police stand guard at the scene of the attack.

German police conducted several anti-terror raids in connection with the case but no arrests were made, a spokesman of the federal prosecutor’s office in the city of Karlsruhe told NBC News.

Anis Amri is the subject of an global manhunt after the attack left 12 dead and dozens injured. German authorities believe he was a victim rather than an accomplice.

The 24-year-old had communicated with the extremist organisation at least once and was also on a United States no-fly list, the newspaper said, citing a USA official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Republican, who takes office January 20 and is known for his heated rhetoric, also promised to wipe out “terrorists”.

Germany’s top prosecutor, Peter Frank, said the attack outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was reminiscent of July’s deadly truck attack in Nice and appeared to follow instructions published by IS. He also had Egyptian and Lebanese citizenship, the warrant stated.

“Our investigators assume that the truck was deliberately steered into the crowd at the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz”, police said on Twitter.

“For the time being, we still do not know with certainty, whether there was one perpetrator or more”, he told a press conference in Berlin.

One of Amri’s brothers urged him to turn himself in. Authorities believe the suspect is still in Germany.

Authorities have yet to recover a gun they say was used in Monday’s attack. Officials reported that the investigation turned up nothing more than drug-dealing in a Berlin park and a bar brawl before the suspect disappeared from his regular haunts in Berlin.

He is said to have entered Germany past year and was due to be deported in June but stayed because there was a delay in receiving paperwork from Tunisia.

If it is confirmed that Amri was connected to the attack, there is likely to be political backlash in Italy too, where record numbers of migrants have arrived by boat this year.

He is said to be armed and risky and operates using six different aliases under three different nationalities.

Prosecutors warned the suspect could be armed and risky and have offered a 100,000 euro (£84,000) reward for information leading to his arrest.