Germany attack: German police name man, 26, accused of deadly festival stabbings

German prosecutors have revealed the identity of the suspected knifeman after he handed himself in to police.

The 26-year-old was named as Issa Al H, omitting his family name because of German privacy laws.

He is suspected of being a member of Islamic State and is being investigated over three counts of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm in eight cases.

Prosecutors said “due to his radical Islamist convictions” he tried to kill as many people as possible that he considered to be non-believers, stabbing them repeatedly in the neck and upper body.

He was pictured in handcuffs being escorted to the Federal Public Prosecutor in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Sunday.

The man is a Syrian national who had applied for asylum in Germany, according to the Associated Press.

The suspect came from a home for refugees in Solingen that was searched on Saturday, North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior minister, Herbert Reul, said.

On Saturday the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence.

German prosecutors have named the man suspected of carrying out a knife attack at a festival that killed three people and injured eight.

The Syrian national was named a Issa Al H, omitting his family name because of German privacy laws.

He is suspected of being a member of Islamic State and is being investigated over three counts of murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm in eight cases.

Prosecutors said “due to his radical Islamist convictions” he tried to kill as many people as possible that he considered to be non-believers, stabbing them repeatedly in the neck and upper body.

The tragedy unfolded at a festival in Solingen’s central square, the Fronhof, where thousands were gathered for a festival.

The Festival of Diversity, marking the city’s 650th anniversary, began on Friday and was to run until Sunday, with several stages in central streets offering live music, cabaret and acrobatics.

Solingen has about 160,000 residents and is near the bigger cities of Cologne and Dusseldorf.

The remainder of the festival has been cancelled as the city mourn’s the tragedy, with flowers, candles and messages being left near the scene of the attack.

A 26-year-old man has turned himself into police claiming he is responsible for the Solingen knife attack that left three dead and eight wounded, German authorities announced Sunday.

Duesseldorf police said in a joint statement with the prosecutor’s office that the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack.”

“This person’s involvement in the crime is currently being intensively investigated,” the statement said.

Federal prosecutors said they were investigating on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and membership in a foreign terrorist organisation.

The suspect was taken from the police station in Solingen to make a first appearance before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe on Sunday afternoon.

The attack comes amid debate over immigration ahead of regional elections next Sunday in Germany’s Saxony and Thueringia regions where anti-immigration parties such as the populist Alternative for Germany are expected to do well, according to the Associated Press.

In June, Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that the country would start deporting criminals from Afghanistan and Syria again after a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant left one police officer dead and four more people injured.

The attack raised fears that Europe could face another wave of terror attacks. On Saturday, a synagogue in France was targeted in an arson attack. French police said they made an arrest early on Sunday.

A suspect in the mass stabbing at a festival in Solingen, west Germany, has been escorted to the Federal Public Prosecutor in Karlsruhe, Germany, according to Reuters.

Pictures appeared show the suspect being led from a helicopter flanked by uniformed officers.

A 26-year-old Syrian man turned himself in to police late on Saturday, claiming to be behind the horrific stabbing.

Federal prosecutors said they were investigating a suspect on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and membership in a foreign terrorist organisation.

He is due to make a first appearance before a judge later on Sunday.