2016 Berlin attack — attack at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin on 19 December 2016
The deadliest act of terrorism in Germany since 1980 and the worst Islamist attack in German history by casualties.
Key Facts
- Date
- 19 December 2016
- Deaths
- 13 (including delayed victim)
- Injured
- 56
- Perpetrator
- Anis Amri, 24, Tunisian asylum seeker
- Claimed by
- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
- Perpetrator's fate
- Killed in shootout near Milan, 4 days after attack
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Anis Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian national whose asylum application had been rejected, pledged allegiance to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. After shooting and killing the truck's Polish driver, Łukasz Urban, he commandeered the vehicle and drove it toward a crowded public space.
On 19 December 2016, Amri deliberately drove a heavy truck into the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz beside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, killing 12 people immediately and injuring 56. The truck was ultimately halted by its automatic braking system. ISIL claimed responsibility and released a video of Amri's pledge of allegiance.
Amri fled Germany and was killed four days later in a police shootout near Milan, Italy. A thirteenth victim died nearly five years after the attack from wound complications. The attack prompted intensified debate in Germany over asylum policy, security agency coordination, and counter-terrorism measures, and remains the deadliest Islamist terrorist attack in German history.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Anis Amri.
Side B
1 belligerent