GERMANY: Berlin Motorway Brought To Standstill In A Suspected Terror Attack

Prosecutors in Germany suspect several crashes that brought a Berlin motorway to a standstill on Tuesday night were deliberately caused by a single man in a possible terrorist act.

Six people were injured, three of them severely, when a 30-year-old motorist drove into a number of vehicles along a stretch of the German capital’s motorway in a black Opel Astra.

The series of crashes led to the complete closure of one of the main traffic arteries of Berlin, which continued into Wednesday.

Officials suspect the crashes were caused intentionally, Germany’s DPA news agency reported. Attorney general Margarete Koppers is expected inform Berlin’s legal committee about the findings later on Wednesday.

Investigators have cited possible “religious” motivations for the incident, according to Germany’s Bild newspaper, while one local prosecution official told AFP that “Islamism” was a suspected motive.

Local media also reported that the man later stopped on the highway and put a box on the roof of his car claiming it had explosives inside. Specialists opened the box and found only tools. The man was detained by police, media reported.

Police and prosecutors would not confirm reports of claims made by the man on Wednesday morning.

The incident led to long traffic jams on Tuesday evening. Some 300 people were stuck on the highway for hours and were getting support from the German Red Cross, the Berlin fire department tweeted on Tuesday night.

//Independent