Berlin Pride attacker recorded pledge of allegiance to IS, prosecutors say

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People visit a makeshift memorial after a deadly attack in which a vehicle crashed into a crowd near Berlin

The man believed to be behind a deadly vehicle attack near Berlin’s ​Pride celebration over the weekend left a ‌video on his phone pledging allegiance to militant group Islamic State, German prosecutors said on ​Tuesday.

Though the person in the video ​was masked, authorities assume it shows ⁠the suspected attacker, 21-year-old German citizen Abdul ​Ballout, a spokesperson for the federal prosecutors’ ​office said.

He would not specify when the video was recorded.

Ballout, who was shot dead by police ​on Sunday, is suspected of ploughing a ​vehicle into crowds in Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg ‌Gate ⁠late on Saturday, killing a Polish woman in her 60s and injuring 29 people.

Germany’s interior minister announced a security overhaul on ​Monday after ​the vehicle attack prompted ⁠an angry debate over why the suspected driver had been ​freed under supervision of a probation ​officer ⁠and was not in prison.

The suspect had been convicted and sentenced to jail time ⁠in ​May for preparing a ​serious act of violence endangering the state.

Source: Reuters

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