Berlin highway crashes probed as terror attack

A man who rammed several cars on a highway in Berlin is being investigated for what prosecutors say “was an Islamist motivated attack”.

Three people were seriously injured when his suspect’s car collided with cars on the A100 motorway shortly before 7pm (5pm GMT).

Witnesses said the 30-year-old Iraqi suspect claimed to have a “dangerous object” in a box containing ammunition.

Nothing was found inside later.

The man is said to have deliberately caused three accidents on the road near the center of Berlin. One involved a motorcyclist whose engine was rammed into a car. The motorcyclist is thought to be in a life-threatening condition. The three occupants of the car were also injured.

Prosecutors are investigating the attack as having a political or religious motive, but they have not ruled out psychological problems. “Because of the circumstances, we do not see this as a random accident,” the Berlin spokesman said on Wednesday. “Recent indications point to an Islamist motivated attack.”

After the accidents, it was said that the man had placed a metal box on the road. According to sources quoted by the website Tagesspiegel, he shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is the greatest) and “No one comes closer than you will die otherwise.”

Named by German media as Samrad A, the suspect lives in refugee accommodation and reports suggest he may have been radicalized there. He is expected on three charges of attempted murder.

• Attacker of Christmas market in Berlin shot dead in Milan

The series of accidents on the A100 on Tuesday caused three hours of closures on the motorway, including on the central Kurfürstendamm.

The center of Berlin was targeted in December 2016, when Islamist militant Anis Amri drove a truck into a crowded Christmas market, killing 12 people and injuring 49 others. Amri fled to the northern Italian city of Milan, where he was shot dead by police.

Amri, a Tunisian, had spent several years in prison.