BERLIN: Anti-terrorism prosecutors in Germany will take over the investigation into a knife attack in Mannheim that killed a police officer, a spokeswoman told AFP on Monday.
She said the office took on the case due to the “singular importance” of the attack, which sparked alarm in Germany.
A 25-year-old Afghan is accused of attacking people with a knife at an anti-Islam rally in the western city of Mannheim.
A police officer, 29, died on Sunday after being repeatedly stabbed during the attack. Mannheim police said he was a married father of two.
Five people taking part in a rally organized by Pax Europa, a campaign group against radical Islam, were wounded in the attack.
The suspect faces possible charges of murder, attempted murder and five counts of serious bodily harm, the spokeswoman said.
Police said an officer shot and wounded the attacker. The suspect underwent surgery and could not yet be interrogated.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of the police officer following the “terrible attack.”
Several government officials pointed to a suspected terrorist motive.
“We must defend ourselves against Islamist terrorism with determination,” Finance Minister Christian Lindner told German daily Bild.
Germany has been on high alert for possible Islamist attacks since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
The country’s domestic intelligence chief warned that the risk of such assaults is “real and higher than it has been for a long time.”
The country has also seen a spate of attacks on politicians at work or on the campaign trail ahead of EU elections on June 9.
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned last week that Germans “must never get used to violence in the battle of political opinions.”
Anti-terrorism prosecutor takes over German knife-attack case
https://arab.news/6vfuh
Anti-terrorism prosecutor takes over German knife-attack case
- A 25-year-old Afghan is accused of attacking people with a knife at an anti-Islam rally in the western city of Mannheim
G.Bissau opposition leader summoned by military court: sources
- Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party, which led the coastal west African country to independence from Portugal in 1974, was arrested on the day of the November coup
BISSAU: Guinea-Bissau’s main opposition leader has been summoned to appear before a military court over alleged links to multiple coup plots, judicial and military sources told AFP.
The junta has imprisoned senior politicians after overthrowing president Umaro Sissoco Embalo and seizing power in November, just days after presidential elections.
Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party, which led the coastal west African country to independence from Portugal in 1974, was arrested on the day of the November coup.
SPEEDREAD
• Domingos Simoes Pereira is suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025, a source said.
• Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a string of attempted military takeovers since independence.
• Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political chaos have also made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption.
He was freed late last month but was placed under house arrest because of separate investigations into alleged financial crimes.
He will be questioned on Friday for his “alleged involvement in a coup attempt,” a source close to the military court told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“There are a lot of suspicions hanging over him regarding his alleged involvement in several subversive actions,” a senior officer said.
Pereira is suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025, the same source added.
Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a string of attempted military takeovers since independence.
Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political chaos have also made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption and drug smuggling.
