Afternoon summary
- Anis Amri, the man believed to be behind the Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 12 people has been shot dead by Italian police. The Italian interior minister said he was on foot when he was stopped in Milan during a routine check.
- Amri opened fire when challenged, shooting one police officer, Cristian Movio, in the shoulder. The 36-year-old officer’s wound is not life-threatening and photographs have shown him sitting up and smiling in hospital. Another officer, Luca Scata, a 29-year-old who had been on the job for nine months, then shot and killed the suspected terrorist.
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A video of Amri pledging allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been published by the extremist group’s Amaq news agency. In it Amri calls for Isis supporters to take revenge against “crusaders” bombing Muslims.
- The focus of the investigation into the Berlin attack is now on whether Amri had any assistance or accomplices, the country’s federal prosecutor, Peter Frank, said.
- The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, was told of Amri’s death by the Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, and thanked the Italian authorities. Italian and German politicians and officials praised the officers involved in the confrontation.
- Merkel ordered a security review, including an analysis of what went wrong, after it emerged that German authorities had tracked Amri for months over suspicions he was planning an attack. She said she had informed the Tunisian president, Beji Caid Essebsi, that Germany would be “significantly accelerating” deportation of rejected asylum seekers.
- Rightwing politicians, including France’s Marine Le Pen, Holland’s Geert Wilders, and the former Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, have used the incident to rail at Europe’s open borders. Italian police have suggested that Amri “surely passed through France” and media reports suggest a French train ticket was found in his backpack. But there has been no official confirmation of the route he took or his means of transport.
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Cristian Movio, 36, who was shot by Anis Amri, has paid tribute to his colleague, Luca Scata, who fired the shot that killed the Berlin attack suspect.
AFP reports that Movio praised his partner to one of his visitors in hospital. He is quoted as saying:
My partner’s actions were exemplary, he reacted immediately when the pistol came out.
After Movio was hit by a bullet in the shoulder, Scata, 29, fired twice in quick succession. Scata has only been in the police force for nine months and is three months into a probationary period in Milan, according to AFP.
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Tunisia’s president has told the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, that he firmly condemns the “cowardly terrorist act” in Berlin.
In a statement on Friday, Beji Caid Essebsi called for tighter cooperation to fight “the plague of terrorism that threatens the security and stability of all countries”.
The alleged attacker, Anis Amri, who was shot dead on Friday, was a Tunisian national. He was supposed to have been deported from Germany, but authorities said they could not get the right papers from Tunisia.
Tunisian authorities say the reason it took so long to issue Amri’s papers is that they needed to carry out so many identity checks. Amri reportedly used at least six different names and three different nationalities in his travels around Europe.
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French authorities are refusing to comment on how the Berlin attack suspect apparently crossed into France and left again in the face of an international manhunt, AP reports:
Milan police chief Antonio de Iesu said earlier that Anis Amri had ‘surely passed through France’, a country that has been living in a state of emergency for more than a year after deadly Islamic extremist attacks.
France upped security on the road borders with Germany after Monday’s Christmas market attack in Berlin and introduced extra security forces on trains last year after American passengers thwarted an attack on an Amsterdam-Paris route.
The interior ministry, prime minister’s office and president’s office would not comment on the Milan police announcement that Amri was found in Italy with a train ticket from Chambéry, France, the day before.
The French interior minister, Bruno Le Roux, visited a Paris train station on Friday morning to inspect security measures ahead of the Christmas holidays. He said more than 91,000 police and military forces were deployed across the country.
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A German security official said the Berlin truck attack suspect has been linked to an extremist recruitment network allegedly run by a preacher arrested last month.
From AP:
Holger Münch, the head of the federal criminal police office, said that Anis Amri’s name ‘has come up in the past’ in connection with the network centring on a 32-year-old German-based Iraqi, Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah A, aka Abu Walaa. He would not elaborate.
Walaa was arrested on 8 November with four other men, accused of being the ringleader of a group whose aim was to steer people to Islamic State in Syria. Prosecutors say the network smuggled at least one young man and his family to Syria.
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Amri’s killing is an international story, but it is also comes at a critical time in Italy’s domestic politics.
Paolo Gentiloni has been prime minister for nine days and had been consumed by a bank bailout of Monte dei Paschi di Siena just an hour before the shooting.
It did not take long for the issue to become a source of political controversy.
Beppe Grillo, the head of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, joined Marine Le Pen, of France, Geert Wilders, of the Netherlands, and Nigel Farage, of Ukip, in using the incident to criticise Europe’s open border policy under Schengen, which he said needed to be “reviewed”. He said:
It’s crazy that two ordinary officers should be put at risk and finding themselves having to deal with a terrorist wanted by half of Europe.
The problem was the the result of a migrant crisis that was “out of control”, said Grillo.
The Five Star Movement has described itself as post-ideological, and neither left nor right in its political leanings. But Grillo’s response and evocation of the migrant crisis was in line with other rightwing leaders in Europe.
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After he was approached by police, Amri told the officers that he did not have documents and that he was from Calabria, according to a report in La Repubblica.
The officers pressed him, however, and asked him to show them what was inside his backpack, at which point he slipped his hand into his bag and retrieved the gun, shooting Movio.
Luca Scatà returned fire and Amri fell to the ground. La Repubblica reported that he did not die instantly.
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Rightwing politicians are queueing up to make hay out of Amri’s shooting in Milan.
“How about border controls?” asks Beatrix von Storch, MEP for the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
Islamist Amri bis Italien gereist u in Mailand bei "Routinekontrolle" aufgeflogen.Netter Zufall. Wie wäre es jetzt mal mit GRENZKONTROLLEN?
— Beatrix von Storch (@Beatrix_vStorch) December 23, 2016
Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan has also commented underneath a map which he claims shows Amri’s movements, although these have not been established and there has been no suggestion that he travelled through Paris:
Anis Amri's movements in Europe. He had arrived illegally but could not be deported. Something has gone badly wrong. pic.twitter.com/bx17t3ozTE
— Daniel Hannan (@DanielJHannan) December 23, 2016
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Movio, who was shot by Amri, looks to be recovering well.
Cristian Movio, uno dei poliziotti che hanno neutralizzato il killer di Berlino, è rimasto ferito. Qui con i colleghi che lo rincuorano. pic.twitter.com/3eOcCzGSno
— David Sassoli (@DavidSassoli) December 23, 2016
Italian state police have tweeted a picture of where a bullet fired by Amri entered the uniform of the wounded Italian police officer Cristian Movio:
Bullet hole in the uniform of the policeman wounded in the shoot-out with Anis Amri. Now having surgery but not in a critical condition pic.twitter.com/BOx8lF9QwZ
— Polizia di Stato (@poliziadistato) December 23, 2016
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The Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders has joined Marine Le Pen and Nigel Farage in using Amri’s shooting in Italy to take a swipe at Schengen.
The Freedom party (PVV) leader, recently found guilty of inciting discrimination against Dutch Moroccans, tweeted:
So Anis Amri enters EU as asylum seeker, commits terror in Germany and travels to Italy.
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) December 23, 2016
And closing our borders is a bad idea @MinPres ??
Here’s video footage showing part of Merkel’s press conference:
"My great thanks goes out to the Italian security forces, Italian police and authorities" - German Chancellor https://t.co/bArceiTFUI pic.twitter.com/0ckRmjM41E
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) December 23, 2016
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Amri made video pledging allegiance to Isis
The Berlin Christmas market attacker pledged his allegiance to Isis (Islamic State) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and called for Isis supporters to take revenge against “crusaders” bombing Muslims, a video posted on Amaq news agency showed, according to Reuters.
1) Breaking: #ISIS' Amaq releases video of #Berlin attacker pledging to #ISIS prior to attack pic.twitter.com/B2TOb182MQ
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) December 23, 2016
2) Vid was published minutes after Amaq posted acknowledgement that #Berlin attack suspect Anis Amri was killed in police shootout in #Milan https://t.co/DjEvqrbUq1
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) December 23, 2016
3)Anis Amri claims his attack is vengeance for airstrikes against Muslims, he wishes to punish "pig-eaters"& to become a "shaheed" (martyr)
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) December 23, 2016
4)This video gives further indication that Amri had ties with #ISIS, but that his attack itself was ISIS-inspired, not ISIS-coordinated
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) December 23, 2016
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Merkel extends condolences to the families of those killed “for whom this Christmas will be a Christmas of deep sorrow”.
The death of Amri does not end the investigation, says the German chancellor. They will seek to find out who was helping him and covering his acts.
Merkel says she has asked for an investigation into “each and every aspect of the case of Mr Amri” as the case has raised a number of questions. Wherever there is a need for a political or legislative change, that will be done speedily, she pledges.
The chancellor says she spoke to the Tunisian president and the process of sending back Tunisian refugees from Germany who have no right to stay will be speeded up. More need to be sent back, says Merkel.
We can be relieved that one acute threat has come to an end but the threat that comes from terrorism - that is a general threat - continues.
With that, the press conference ends.
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Anglea Merkel says she was informed by the Italian prime minister that Amri was killed.
I thanked the Italian prime minister.
She wishes Cristian Movio, the Italian officer who was shot, a speedy recovery.
Terrorism is a challenge for all of us and it is good to see how resolutely and how well we work together across Europe, says Merkel.
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Milan police say Cristian Movio, 36, the officer who was injured in the shootout with Amri, has had an operation on an injury to his right shoulder, AP reports. The surgeon says it was a superficial wound and that he was in good condition.
Movio managed to fire a round against his attacker but his partner, 29-year-old Luca Scatà, fired the shot that killed Amri.
Scatà has only one year’s experience on the force. His shot to the chest killed Amri.
Milan’s police chief, Antonio De Iesu, said the officers became suspicious after noticing Amri alone outside a closed suburban Milan train station at 3am. When asked, Amri said he had no ID papers. He also had no phone and just a small pocket knife.
But De Iesu said he had a fully loaded 22-caliber pistol that he used against the officers. “He is a ghost,” De Iesu said, referring to Amri’s lack of documents or phone.
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The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is expected to make a statement at 3pm (2pm GMT).
Erklärung von Kanzlerin #Merkel zum Fall Anis #Amri gegen 15 Uhr: https://t.co/0lQLkkBo9l #Breitscheidplatz
— Steffen Seibert (@RegSprecher) December 23, 2016
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De Maizière expressed relief that “the attacker is not providing any danger any more”.
He said a team of specialist German investigators were travelling to Italy to work with the Italian authorities. “I thank them for their close cooperation,” he said according to a Sky News translation.
“There has been intensive European and transatlantic cooperation,” he said.
“This manhunt, which has ended with success, doesn’t end the investigation – we have to investigate further. Unfortunately the terror threat has not changed. It is still at high risk.”
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Germany’s interior minister, Thomas De Maizière, has confirmed that the investigation is still under way despite the death of the main suspect. Speaking at a press conference in Berlin he told reporters: “The terrorist risk remains high.”
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Italian police have issued photographs of the two officers who confronted Anis Amri.
Amri was shot dead by Luca Scatà after his colleague Cristian Movio was shot in the shoulder by the suspect.
LUCA SCATA', IL POLIZIOTTO CHE HA UCCISO IL TERRORISTA, E' UN AGENTE IN PROVA - https://t.co/G7BBOt6jCa pic.twitter.com/21bwnt0In9
— Sostenitori.info (@Sostenitori1) December 23, 2016
Earlier, the Italian interior minister, Marco Minniti, said Movio was recovering in hospital. He added that he has thanked him and wished him a happy Christmas.
“I told him that I hope he gets better soon. The boy is very motivated. He’s an extraordinary person. I thanked him for the professionalism that he demonstrated, for the professionalism that he and his colleague had demonstrated,” he said.
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The website of the German magazine Der Spiegel reports that the people killed in the Berlin attack are six men and six women.
Among them are women from the Czech Republic, Italy and Israel. The Polish truck driver who was killed has already been named as Łukazs Urban. The remaining eight victims are German.
Among the 45 injured are citizens from Israel, Spain, Britain, Hungary, Finland and Lebanon.
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Germany’s federal prosecutor, Peter Frank, said the main focus of his team’s investigation into the Berlin attack was whether Amri had accomplices.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Frank confirmed that the man shot in Italy was Anis Amri. He also said German police were examining how he escaped from the city.
According to a BBC translation he said: “We are in close contact with the Italian authorities. We are interested to learn whether the weapon Amri carried in Milan was the weapon used in the attack in Berlin. We are investigating with high intensity.”
We want to investigate how he managed to get to Milan and whether he had any assistance or accomplices. We will look at what contacts he made in the preparation of the attack – people who may have supported him with money and aided him in the escape.
We need to establish whether there was a network of accomplices. That is the focal point of our investigation. If there were accomplices and co-offenders then of course they need to be part of our investigation.
The investigation is ongoing against unnamed people. The claim of responsibility by Islamic State is rather vague. It doesn’t specify the offender.
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The former Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, has followed in the footsteps of Marine Le Pen, attempting to use the shootout with Amri in Milan to score political points.
If the man shot in Milan is the Berlin killer, then the Schengen Area is proven to be a risk to public safety. It must go.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) December 23, 2016
This graphic shows where Anis Amri opened fire on police, injuring an officer, before being shot dead himself.
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France far-right leader Marine Le Pen is trying to make political capital from Amri’s shooting by criticising Europe’s open-border policy under the Schengen agreement.
She said reports suggesting that he travelled by train via France is “symptomatic of the total security disaster represented by the Schengen area”.
Le Pen added:
Without permanent national borders, France and its neighbours are reduced to learning that an armed and dangerous jihadi was probably wandering on its soil only after the event.
I reiterate my commitment to give France full control over its national borders and to put an end to the Schengen agreement. The myth of total free movement in Europe, to which my opponents still cling in this presidential election, must be buried.
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Italian state police have released a photograph of the officer who was shot by Amri.
This is Cristian Movio - the police officer injured by #AnisAmri in shootout in #Milan - picture from @poliziadistato pic.twitter.com/IQNdW3ZhGX
— Julián Miglierini (@julianmig) December 23, 2016
Questions are being asked about how Amri managed to get all the way to Italy without being apprehended.
If Amri really travelled all the way to Milan by train, that would have meant 24h+ on public transport, possibly with visible injuries
— Philip Oltermann (@philipoltermann) December 23, 2016
The German federal prosecutor’s office is holding a press conference at 12.30pm (11.30am GMT).
The Czech foreign ministry has confirmed that a Czech woman was among those killed in Monday’s terrorist attack in Berlin. The woman lived and worked in Berlin, but further details, including her name, have not been released. Her husband reported her missing after the attack and provided DNA samples.
At a press briefing in Prague, foreign minister Lubomír Zaorálek said he was deeply sorry at the news:
This is the first time that a Czech has died in a terrorist attack in Europe, in a terrorist attack so close to home. We are doing everything possible to help her husband in Germany and support her family in this difficult time. And I want to assure the public that the government is doing everything in its power to prevent such atrocities on Czech territory, we are doing everything possible to keep this country safe.
Berlin is a two-hour drive from the Czech border and thousands of Czechs visit around Christmas time.
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Italy’s former prime minister Matteo Renzi has paid tribute to the Italian police.
In a post on his Facebook page he wrote:
If there’s one thing I’ve learned to appreciate in my thousand days in office it is that our men and our women in uniform have extraordinary quality and professionalism.
They are among the best in the world even if this is is not always recognised. When I heard of the news of the killing of the Berlin attacker, this for me was just confirmation that our police are among the best in the world.
The death of a man is never an event to celebrate, but when this armed man was killed it was crucial. Thanks to the officer who risks their lives. We are proud of you. Long live Italy!
Germany said it was “relieved” by reports from Italian authorities that the prime suspect in the Berlin Christmas market attack was shot dead by Milan police.
Interior ministry spokesman Tobias Plate told reporters:
There are growing signs that this is actually the person [wanted in the attack]. Should this be proved true, the ministry is relieved that this person no longer poses a danger.
Foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schäfer said Berlin was “grateful to the Italian authorities for the very close cooperation based on trust”.
Plate said that Berlin had not yet received “official confirmation” from Italy that the dead man was in fact the suspect, Anis Amri, after Italy’s interior minister, Marco Minniti, told a news conference in Rome that Amri had been shot after firing at two police officers.
Ulrike Demmer, a spokeswoman for the chancellor, Angela Merkel, declined to comment until the written confirmation had arrived from Rome.
“I ask you for a bit of patience,” she said.
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The Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, who has been in the job for less than a fortnight, has been speaking.
Gentiloni, Italy's new PM, says he was the one to make the call to Merkel this AM that Amri was dead.
— Steph Kirchgaessner (@skirchy) December 23, 2016
Gentiloni: our attention is high,the threats should not be underestimated
— Steph Kirchgaessner (@skirchy) December 23, 2016
During its press conference, the German interior ministry said there were 330 “relevant people” in the country, those suspected of having terrorist sympathies.
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There is a report that Amri used the same gun in last night’s shootout as was used to kill the Polish lorry driver who was the first victim of the Berlin attack.
SKYTG in Italy is reporting that the weapon in the shootout was the same that killed the Polish lorry driver who was Monday's 1st victim
— Steph Kirchgaessner (@skirchy) December 23, 2016
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Amri travelled to Italy via France, according to Italian authorities.
What we know about Amri's route so far, according to Milan terror chief: Chambéry, France –> Turin –> Milan, arrival at 1am last night
— Philip Oltermann (@philipoltermann) December 23, 2016
At the German government’s daily press conference the ministerial officials are coming under huge pressure to explain why Anis Amri was able to move freely in Germany and plan his attack under the nose of authorities, particularly following the emergence of the footage showing that he was monitored entering an Isis (Islamic State)-associated mosque in Berlin on 14 and 15 December and again leaving it seven hours after the attack.
The officials are very defensive, and have several times answered journalists that they cannot answer many of the questions, and that it would be disrespectful to speculate while many of the victims of the attack have not even yet been buried.
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A German interior ministry official says:
We have to ask ourselves ‘can we not improve the [security] measures?’
Another official says they cannot confirm the death of Amri “because that is up to the Italian authorities”.
A press conference in Berlin has begun.
The German interior ministry seem to be seeing they do not have final confirmation that it is Amri.
But this appears to be merely caution in the light of the fact that the operation and identification of the man killed was carried out by the Italians and not their own personnel.
A reporter from Germany’s public international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, has spoken to Amri’s brother.
#Amri 's brother via phone on his death: "We are shocked and the whole family is in a bad situation. No comment".
— Jaafar Abdul Karim (@jaafarAbdulKari) December 23, 2016
A government press conference is imminent in Germany, according to Sky News.
This pictures shows the scene of the incident in which Amri was shot dead.
One important detail from the press conference which contradicted the reports was the interior minister said Amri was on foot, whereas Italian media had said he was in a car at the time of the confrontation.
We have let the German federal prosecutor’s office know. We have told their police force and authorities.
These people in our police force are exceptional.
The officers did an “extraordinary service” and when he says everyone will want to thank them there is applause from those in the room.
And that concludes the press conference.
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Interior minister Minniti says he has thanked the officer who was shot, Cristian Movio, on behalf of the entire ministry and entire Italian police force.
And I said Happy Christmas.
He says Italy should be “very proud” of its security.
He was the most wanted man in Europe and we immediately identified him and neutralised him. This means our security is working really well.
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Anis Amri confirmed killed.
The person who was killed, there is no doubt that he is Anis Amri.
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The police officer immediately reacted, luckily he wasn’t shot fatally and is in hospital recovering. The other officers reacted and the person who attacked our police officer was killed.
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Last night at 3am in Milan, during a normal patrol one of our officers stopped a person who looked very suspect.
The man without hesitating took his gun and he shot at the police officer who asked him for his ID papers.
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Interior minister Marco Minniti is about to start speaking at the news conference where he will possibly confirm that the Berlin Christmas market attacker has been shot dead.
Reuters is reporting that fingerprints have identified the man killed in Berlin as Anis Amri, citing a police source. But we still await official confirmation from police or the interior minister.
Bettina Gabbe, reporter with the German TV station N24 says that fingerprints have been taken of the dead man in Milan, in order to compare them with German police records and check it’s the right man. She said authorities there told her it would not take long to establish if there was a match.
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Spiegel Online reports that the man killed in Milan shouted “Allahu Akbar” when police in the north of the city asked for him to show his id. He then shot at the two policeman. They returned fire, hitting Amri fatally. Germany’s state prosecutor in Karlsruhe is neither confirming nor denying the reports at present. A spokesman there has said that they are in close contact with the Italian authorities.
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The German federal public prosecutor’s office’s spokesman has said that German authorities are in close contact with Italian colleagues, Sky News says.
Italian news agency Ansa is also reporting that a man killed in Milan is the Berlin Christmas market suspect. It says he was shot after he pulled out a gun during a “routine road check” in Piazza Primo Maggio, in front of Sesto San Giovanni station.
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Anis Amri, the suspect behind Monday night’s terror attack in Berlin, has been killed in a police shootout in Milan, according to an unconfirmed report by Panorama, an Italian news magazine. Panorama claimed in an exclusive report this morning that Amri was killed in a routine traffic stop at 3am today in the Piazza I Maggio in the Sesto San Giovanni neighborhood. The report was not immediately confirmed by the Italian government or any law enforcement officials.
Panorama reported that Amri pulled out a gun and began shooting at the officers. It said that an officer who had been on the job for nine months then killed the suspect. The officer was shot in the shoulder but is alive. Italy’s top law enforcement official, the interior minister, Marco Minniti, is due to address the press at 10:45 am (9.45am GMT). Amri was believed to have spent several years in Italy before he traveled to Germany.T here were separately reports of a shootout in Milan in several Italian newspapers.
Amri has previous links with Italy. He arrived there in 2011, along with tens of thousands of other Tunisians men who fled by boat during the Arab spring.
He spent three and a half years in six different prisons on Sicily for starting a fire at a refugee centre and making threats, among other charges.
Two of Amri’s brothers, Walid and Abdelkader, have said they believe he may have been radicalised by radical Islamists while behind bars in Italy.
Italian authorities said Amri had been a problematic inmate. The justice ministry said he had repeatedly been admonished and transferred among Sicilian prisons for bad conduct. Prison records say he bullied inmates and tried to spark insurrections.
But Italy apparently recorded no signs that Amri was becoming radicalised.
The Italian interior minister is to hold a press conference at 10.45am (9.45am GMT), the interior ministry has said.
Anis Amri, the man suspected of killing 12 people by driving a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, has reportedly been killed in Italy, according to Italian news magazine Panorama. Reuters have also reported that Amri was killed in a shootout, citing unnamed security sources.
More details soon …
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