Berlin market attacker Anis Amri buried in Tunisia
August 6, 2017
After a spat with Italian officials over the terrorist's body, Amri's family members held a funeral in his hometown in Tunisia, they told DW. His remains had been held in Italy for months before being transferred.
Image: DW
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The burial ceremony took place on Saturday in Amri's hometown of Oueslatia, DW journalist Jaafar Abdul-Karim reported. Armi's close family members and neighbors were present. His brother, Mohammed Amri, told DW, "All of us, especially my mother, are relieved that we can finally bury him. We had to pay Tunisian authorities a converted amount of around 5,000 euros [$5,887], which we borrowed."
Family members and neighbors on the way to Amri's burialImage: DW
Transferred to Tunisia at the end of June
After drawn-out back-and-forth proceedings, Amri's body was transferred to Tunisia, where it was stored in a hospital in the capital city of Tunis. Italian authorities previously initiated a argument regarding the body. The city of Sesto San Giovanni, where Amri was shot on December 23, four days after fleeing Germany, refused to pay the bill for the preservation of the corpse.
According to Sesto's Mayor Roberto Di Stefano, the small Italian city received the bill from the nearby city of Milan, where Amri's body had been stored in the months following his death. Di Stefano said he would not pay the 2,160 euros ($2,543) price tag, underlining that his citizen's money would "never" be used for a terrorist.
Mayor Di Stefano sent a complaint, among other things, to Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. Italian law prescribes that the costs for an unclaimed body are to be paid for by the municipality where the person died.
Chronology: Terror plots in Germany
Several times over the past 18 months, police have managed to thwart terror attacks and plots in Germany, which has clearly become a target for Islamic militants in Europe. The following made the headlines:
Image: Reuters/M. Rehle
Leipzig, October 2016
Police in Leipzig arrested 22-year-old Syrian refugee Jaber al-Bakr after a two-day manhunt following the discovery of explosives and other bomb-making equipment at his apartment in Chemnitz. He was suspected of plotting to attack a Berlin airport. Two days later, he hanged himself in his prison cell.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Willnow
Ansbach, July 2016
In July, the "Islamic State" (IS) claimed responsibility for two attacks carried out by asylum seekers. 15 people were injured in a crowded wine bar next to the entrance to a music festival in the Bavarian town of Ansbach after a rejected Syrian asylum seeker detonated an explosive device. The man killed himself in the attack.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/D. Karmann
Würzburg, July 2016
A 17-year-old asylum seeker wielding an axe and a knife went on a rampage on a regional train near Würzburg, seriously injuring four members of a tourist family from Hong Kong and a passer-by. The attacker was shot dead by police. German authorities said the teenager was believed to be a "lone wolf" inspired by the IS, but without being a member of the network.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Hildenbrand
Düsseldorf, May 2016
Three suspected members of the "Islamic State" terror network were arrested in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Baden Württemberg. Authorities say two of the men planned to blow themselves up in downtown Düsseldorf, while the other attacker and a fourth jihadist arrested in France planned to target pedestrians with guns and explosive devices.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hitij
Essen, April 2016
Police arrested three people over a bomb blast that injured three people in a Sikh temple in Essen. The bomb detonated after a wedding party, blowing out windows and destroying a part of the building's exterior. A 16-year-old suspect turned himself in after police showed footage of the attack from a surveillance camera and special police units arrested another young suspect in his parents' home.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kusch
Hanover, February 2016
German-Moroccan Safia S. is charged with stabbing a police officer at the main train station in the northern city of Hanover. The 16-year-old girl is suspected of having been "motivated by members of the Islamic State group in Syria to commit this act," chief prosecutor Simon Heinrichs said.
Image: Polizei
Berlin, February 2016
In separate raids across the country, police arrested three Algerians suspected of links to the "Islamic State" militant group and of having planned a terrorist attack in Berlin. The Berlin prosecutor's office said prosecutors were aware of a "concrete" plan to target the capital.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Oberursel, April 2015
The Eschborn-Frankfurt City loop bike race was called off after German police discovered it may have been the target of an Islamist terror attack. A 35-year-old German with a Turkish background and his 34-year-old wife were arrested on suspicion of planning the attack. Police found bomb-making materials in their home near the bike route.
