2016 Ansbach bombing

2016 Ansbach bombing
Part of terrorism in Germany (Islamic terrorism in Europe and the spillover of the Syrian Civil War)
Eugens Weinstube, where the explosion happened
Site of explosion.   ☐  Venue area. ① Entrance / Ticket checkpoint Pfarrstraße. ② Entrance / Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Platz.
Location	Ansbach, Bavaria, Germany
Coordinates	49°18′0″N 10°35′0″E
Date	24 July 2016 (2016-07-24) 22:12 (CEST)
Attack type	Suicide bombing[1]
Weapons	IED
Deaths	1 (the perpetrator)
Injured	15[2]
Perpetrator	Mohammad Daleel[2]
Motive	Jihadism

On 24 July 2016, fifteen people were injured, four seriously, in a suicide bombing outside a wine bar in Ansbach, Bavaria, Germany.^[3] The bomber, identified by police as Mohammad Daleel, was a 27-year-old Syrian asylum seeker who had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State. He was the only fatality in the incident.^[4][5] According to German authorities, Daleel was in contact with the Islamic State and had been planning more attacks before his backpack bomb exploded accidentally.^[6]

The incident followed three other violent incidents that occurred in Germany within a week.^[7][8][9] The Ansbach bombing was the first suicide bombing in Germany by Islamic terrorists,^[10][11] and the first since World War II. Cüneyt Çiftçi, the perpetrator of a 2008 suicide bombing in Afghanistan, who had previously lived in Ansbach, is considered the first suicide bomber to have been born and raised in Germany.^[12]

Event

At 22:12 CEST (20:12 UTC), a bomb exploded outside Eugens Weinstube (Eugene's Wine Bar) in Ansbach, Germany and injured fifteen people, four seriously.^[1][13] The explosion occurred near the entrance to the Ansbach Open music festival with around 2,500 people in attendance.^[14][15] It was initially thought to have been caused by a gas leak.^{[citation needed]} Daleel was communicating with someone online immediately before the blast.^[16] Daleel was in communication with a telephone number in Saudi Arabia^[17] minutes before the attack. He carried a backpack filled with screws, nails, and miscellaneous metal parts used in wood manufacturing and was denied entry into the music festival shortly before the blast because he had no ticket.^[2][18][19] Thereafter, witnesses say, Daleel sat outside Eugene's Wine Bar, leaned forward, and detonated an improvised explosive device.^[20] Emergency personnel arrived and attempted to resuscitate Daleel, but he was already dead.^[2][18]

German authorities now believe Daleel intended to remotely detonate the Ansbach bomb while filming it and to later commit further terrorist attacks.^[21]

Perpetrator

Mohammad Daleel (Arabic: محمد دليل), also known as Abu Yusuf al-Karrar (Arabic: أبو يوسف الكرار), was a 27-year-old Syrian refugee from Aleppo who had arrived in Germany in 2014 seeking asylum.^[22][23]

According to Bild, he was a member of Islamic State of Iraq many years ago.^{[vague][24] [better source needed]} Islamic State called Daleel a "soldier of the Caliphate".^[25]

Bild further says he told German officials that he was a Sunni Muslim and had come from Aleppo. He said he had studied law for half a year and worked at a soap factory owned by his father. "A missile had damaged our house, I was heavily injured and brought to Turkey", he claimed in his asylum application.^{[better source needed]}

Immigration

Mohammad Daleel left Syria on 16 July 2013. Traffickers drove him to Bulgaria, where he filed an asylum request in September 2013.^[2][26] On 17 April 2014, he said, he flew from Sofia to Vienna on Austrian Airlines, Flight OS 806, Seat 22A, with one suitcase. A "mysterious benefactor" gave him the airplane ticket at no charge.^[27] Austrian police seized him and took his documents. On 20 April, he applied for asylum in Austria but then decided to go to Munich on 5 July 2014, where he also applied for asylum in Germany. He stated to German authorities that he had been a victim of torture, a claim of which there is no record of him having previously made, and which The New York Times characterised as appearing to be "embellishments" he made.^[28]

German officials and the local court in Ansbach rejected his first asylum request on 2 December 2014 and ordered his deportation to Bulgaria. Normal procedure in Germany did not allow Daleel to be deported to his home country due to the ongoing Syrian civil war.^[2][20] As he had been registered in Bulgaria, German officials and the local court in Ansbach ordered his deportation to Bulgaria.^[26][29] He then attempted to commit suicide twice and was under psychiatric care.^[2][30] Due to Daleel's mental health diagnosis, the deportation to Bulgaria was suspended.^[2] On 13 July 2016, a second deportation notice to Bulgaria was sent to Daleel.^[31][32] As Daleel was part of the Islamic in Syria and was receiving detailed instructions from the group, there were speculations that he may have exaggerated his mental health problems to evade deportation.^[33]

Minister of Parliament Harald Weinberg of the Left Party blocked the deportation,^[34][35] one of six asylum seekers he has aided.^[36] He said he is "shocked and saddened" by the attack, "Especially since I am often at the Eugene Weinstube and am familiar with many guests there," but given what he knew at that time he believed he had done the right thing.^[36] Due to Daleel's mental health diagnosis, the deportation to Bulgaria was suspended. On 13 July 2016, a second deportation notice to Bulgaria was sent to Daleel.^[37]

Axel von Maltitz, a trauma specialist, wrote a report in 2015 where he warned about Daleel's "extreme spirit" and stated «attempts to deport Mr Daleel could result in a "spectacular" suicide attempt». The report was sent to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.^[38]

Paul Cruickshank, the Editor-in-Chief of CTC Sentinel, a publication of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, has suggested Daleel 'faked or exaggerated' any mental health problems in an attempt to stay in Germany.^[39]

Daleel had been treated around 6 months in an institution called "Exilio e.V." in Lindau by heilpraktikers which claims to offer holistic health treatment "for immigrants" under the leadership of Gisela von Maltitz and Axel von Maltitz. Purportedly, the institution does not include any qualified Doctor of Medicine, psychologist or psychiatrist. The institution has been criticized for using "dubious" practices such as rebirthing.^[40]

Other allegations

It was claimed that Daleel had once attempted to firebomb a German immigration office, but been dissuaded by an aide assigned him (as a refugee asylum applicant) to "help him adapt in Germany".^[41]

Preparation for the bombing

It was alleged that Daleel built the explosive device "in the refugee center",^[42] and that it took him three months, during which period German police raided the building he was living in but failed to arrest him. He was in constant contact with "one of the soldiers" of IS.^[43]

Daleel conducted reconnaissance of the location a day before the attack. He also sent a video to the Islamic State, which was released by Amaq News Agency.^[44]

Aftermath

The music festival was cancelled and the immediate vicinity in which the bombing occurred was evacuated.^[2]

Investigation

German authorities have found a video showing Daleel pledging allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and intending to attack Germans on his phone. Multiple cell phones, SIM cards, a notebook, and six Facebook accounts with Islamist material that belonged to Daleel were also discovered and under investigation.^[19][30] Furthermore, inside the asylum accommodation in which the attacker lived, materials for bomb building were uncovered.^[11][19] Joachim Herrmann, the Bavarian interior minister, said that "it is unquestionable that it is a terror attack with corresponding Islamist convictions of the perpetrator."^[3][29]

Less than an hour after media reported that the attacker had made a pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Amaq News Agency called him an Islamic State fighter who executed the operation in response to calls to target countries of the coalition that fights Islamic State.^[2][29]

The attack came to be considered a "lone wolf attack."^[45][46]

Reactions

As a result of the recent attacks in Germany, the hashtag #Merkelsommer and phrase "Merkel summer" trended on Twitter starting on 25 July 2016 and appeared in other social media.^[19][47] Experts believed that the recent attacks could create an anti-foreigner sentiment in the country, thus presenting criticism and pressure for Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany since 2005.^[47][48]

Joachim Herrmann acknowledged that it was "a very terrible week, as I think it was for most of the people in Bavaria." He said that German authorities would investigate ways to prevent abuse of the asylum system.^[2][19]

See also

• List of Islamist terrorist attacks
• Ansbach school attack
• Munich knife attack (10 May 2016)
• Immigration and crime in Germany

References

1. "Suicide bombing outside cafe in Ansbach, Germany". BNO News. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
2. Farrer, Martin (24 July 2016). "Ansbach explosion: one dead and 12 injured in German town after 'deliberate' blast – latest". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
3. "Germany blast: Ansbach bar explosion 'leaves one dead'". BBC. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
4. Connor, Laura (25 July 2016). "ISIS say Ansbach suicide bomber was 'Islamic State soldier'". Daily Mirror. MGN Limited. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
5. "Bavaria's top security official says Ansbach attacker a 27-year-old Syrian who had been denied asylum". Newsday. Associated Press. 24 July 2016. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
6. Ulrich, Andreas (5 August 2016). "Terror Investigation: Germany Attackers Had Contact with Suspected IS Members". Der Spiegel. Spiegel Online.
7. Darko Janjevic. "Police arrest Syrian man after woman killed in knife attack in Germany". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
8. "Syrian man carrying bomb dies in Germany; 12 wounded". Yahoo. Reuters. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
9. "Ermittlungen zum Münchner Amoklauf abgeschlossen". Landescriminalamt Bayern. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
10. Troianovski, Anton; Buell, Todd (25 July 2016). "Ansbach Bombing in Germany Believed to Be Islamist Terror Attack". The Wall Street Journal. Berlin and Ansbach. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
11. Erster Selbstmordanschlag in Deutschland - Bundesanwaltschaft übernimmt Ermittlungen, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 25 July 2016, in German
12. Gebauer, Matthias (27 March 2008). "'Bavarian Taliban' Video: The Smiling Suicide Bomber". Der Spiegel. Spiegel Online. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
13. Lee, Buffer / Kevan (24 July 2016). "Suspected Suicide Bomber Targets Music Festival in Germany, Injuring 12". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
14. "Germany attack Live: One killed, 12 injured in explosion at a bar near Nuremberg, say police". The Indian Express. The Express Group. 25 July 2016.
15. Christys, Patrick (24 July 2016). "BREAKING: At least one dead and 12 injured in suicide bomb attack at German wine bar". Express. Express Newspapers. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
16. Grieshaber, Kirsten; Mroue, Bassem (27 July 2016). "Minister: Bavaria bomber in online chat before attack". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
17. Gabriel Gatehouse. "Germany 'was warned about Ansbach suicide bomber'". BBC. Retrieved 23 August 2016. German investigators have not ruled out the possibility that Mohammed Daleel may have had contact with jihadist groups years before he detonated his bomb. They say he was communicating with a telephone number in Saudi Arabia in the minutes before the attack.
18. Young, Matt. "Bomb explosion in Ansbach, Germany". News.com.au. News Limited. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
19. Ellis, Ralph. "Suicide bomb rocks Ansbach, Germany". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
20. Troianovski, Anton (25 July 2016). "Apparent suicide bomber kills himself, injures 12 in Germany". Market Watch. MarketWatch, Inc. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
21. Andreas Ulrich. "Germany Attackers Had Contact with Suspected IS Members". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2 October 2016. authorities believe the perpetrator's death on July 24 was likely an accident. They think his intention had been to deposit a backpack carrying homemade explosives within a crowd at a music festival in the city before detonating it remotely [...] to film the detonation and the ensuing inferno and to send the video to IS. But it appears the explosive detonated prematurely, killing Daleel and injuring 15 others.
22. "Germany: Twelve wounded in Ansbach bombing". aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera Media Network. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
23. Troianovski, Anton; Bender, Ruth; Buell, Todd (25 July 2016). "ISIS Suicide Bombing Sets Germany on Edge". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
24. Stritzel, Björn (27 July 2016). "So tief steckte er im ISIS-Sumpf". m.bild.de. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
25. ZOIE O'BRIEN. "'More will come' ISIS warns HUNDREDS of jihadis have SNUCK into Schengen to attack Europe". Daily and Sunday Express. Retrieved 28 September 2016. Mohammad Daleel, a 27-year-old failed asylum seeker, who blew himself up outside a party in Ansbach, Germany. ISIS later said he was a "soldier of the Caliphate".
26. "Ansbach attacker: Asylum seeker to IS suicide bomber - BBC News". BBC. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
27. Erik Kirschbaum; Joseph Nasr; Joern Poltz. "Fervent jihadist or suicidal refugee: the many faces of Bavarian bomber". Reuters. Retrieved 28 July 2016. he was detained and fingerprinted in Bulgaria before a mysterious benefactor gave him a free plane ticket to help him get to Germany
28. MELISSA EDDY; BORYANA DZHAMBAZOVA (4 August 2016). "How a Suicide Bomber Made His Way From Syria to Strike in Ansbach, Germany". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2016. As he sought asylum in Europe, Mr. Daleel appears to have either embellished or omitted key parts of his history in constantly shifting accounts [...] Mr. Daleel did not claim he had been tortured during the two months he was detained in Bulgaria, as he later told the German authorities. The Bulgarian authorities said they knew of no abuse.
29. "Syrian bomber at German music festival was set to be deported, police say". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
30. "Ansbach suicide bomber confirms Isis loyalty in video". The Local. The Local Europe. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
31. Osborne, Samuel (25 July 2016). "Syrian asylum seeker who killed himself and injured 15 in Ansbach was facing deportation". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
32. Eddy, Melissa (25 July 2016). "Suicide Bomber in Ansbach, Germany, Pledged Loyalty to ISIS, Officials Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
33. "Is There a Nexus Between Terrorist Involvement and Mental Health in the Age of the Islamic State? – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
34. Benjamin Weinthal. "Europe terror attacks spotlight security failings amid refugee crisis". Fox News. Retrieved 8 August 2016. authorities did not arrest him, but they did move to deport him earlier this year. The effort was blocked by German Left Party MP Harald Weinberg, who demanded that Daleel get medical care for a knee injury.
35. Jörg Diehl; Christoph Sydow. "Attentäter von Ansbach: Auffällig unauffällig". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 8 August 2016. gegen die er sich lange Zeit juristisch und auch mithilfe des örtlichen Linken-Bundestagsabgeordneten Harald Weinberg gewehrt hatte
36. "Linken-Politiker setzte sich für Bleiberecht von Syrer ein". Frankfurter Neue Presse. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
37. Faiola, Anthony (26 July 2016). "Islamic State publishes video of purported suicide bomber in Germany". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
38. Gabriel Gatehouse. "Germany 'was warned about Ansbach suicide bomber'". BBC. Retrieved 23 August 2016. A 25-page psychological assessment written more than a year before mentioned his "extreme spirit". It was sent to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. It warned that attempts to deport Mr Daleel could result in a "spectacular" suicide attempt.
39. Cruickshank, Paul (27 July 2016). "ISIS are claiming he was member for years". twitter.com. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
40. Ernst, Edzard (29 July 2016). "Ansbach suicide-bomber had alternative treatments for severe psychological trauma". Retrieved 29 July 2016.
41. MATTHEW SCHOFIELD. "German bomber got online instructions from Middle East, police say". McClatchy Newspapers. Retrieved 23 August 2016. An aide assigned to help him adapt in Germany told German media that he once met an angry Daleel on the street, carrying a bottle of gasoline in a bag, and on his way to a government immigration office. The aide said he was able to calm Daleel down.
42. Helmar Büchel; Florian Flade; Kristian Frigelj; Matthias Kamann; Wolfgang Büscher. "Ein neues Deutschland". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 28 September 2016. Vor einem Weinlokal in der Altstadt explodiert die Bombe im Rucksack. Er hat sie in der Asylunterkunft gebaut.
43. Ensor, Josie (27 July 2016). "Ansbach bomber's membership of jihadist group raises questions over Germany's screening of asylum-seekers". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
44. Joscelyn, Thomas (26 July 2016). "Attacks in France and Germany claimed by Islamic State propaganda arm". longwarjournal.org. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
45. Harry Bruinius (12 December 2017). "What foiled New York subway attack says about lone-wolf bombers". CSM. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
46. "Lone wolf attacks raise the tempo of terror in Europe". Financial Times. 26 July 2016.
47. Connolly, Kate (25 July 2016). "Pressure grows on Angela Merkel to start closing Germany's open door". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
48. "German Refugee Policy Under Fire After a Week of Bloodshed". The New York Times. AP. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.