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A German city was struck by another apparent Islamist attack when a Spanish tourist was stabbed near Berlin’s Holocaust memorial on Friday evening.
The incident occurred around 6 pm between the Holocaust memorial and the American embassy in Berlin’s Mitte district, where a 30-year-old Spanish national was attacked and suffered injuries to his neck.
German newspaper Bild identified the alleged attacker as “Wassim al M.” (full name withheld due to German privacy regulations). The suspect, a 19-year-old Syrian asylum seeker, had been residing in government-provided refugee housing in Leipzig.
The assassin who stabbed and seriously injured a Spanish tourist in Berlin yesterday is identified as Wassim al M., a 19-year-old asylum seeker from Syria.#Germany
He inflicted a deep cut to the victim's neck from behind with a hunting knife. pic.twitter.com/PLJWSL6Mq6
— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) February 22, 2025
Law enforcement apprehended the suspect shortly after the incident. At the time of arrest, he was found with blood on his hands and carrying a knife with blood stains. The authorities are investigating the incident as a potential politically motivated crime.
According to NTV, a German news outlet, the suspect lacked identification documents and was wearing minimal clothing when arrested. The State Criminal Police Office 8, which specializes in Islamic terrorism cases, has joined the investigation, though officials have not yet confirmed any connection to radical Islamic motives.
Following emergency surgery, the Spanish victim’s condition has stabilized.
JUST IN: Following the bloody knife attack at the Holocaust Memorial in the heart of Berlin, more details have emerged about the suspect: according to BILD, he is Wassim al M., a 19-year-old Syrian refugee and asylum seeker. https://t.co/rSewrNnVib
— weltgeist (@weltge_ist) February 22, 2025
The attack comes at a sensitive time, just days before Germany’s federal elections, where immigration and Islamic terrorism have emerged as key campaign issues.
Germany has experienced a series of significant attacks allegedly involving migrants and asylum seekers over the past year. Similar incidents have been reported in various cities including Mannheim, Solingen, Magdeburg, Aschaffenburg, and most recently in Munich, which occurred just before the Munich Security Conference this month.
Adding to security concerns, authorities recently arrested an 18-year-old Chechen migrant earlier this week on suspicion of planning an attack on Berlin’s Israeli embassy.
