1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
ChristmasSyriaGerman election 2025
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV

Anis Amri

Anis Amri carried out a suicide attack on a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016, killing 12 people. Four days later, he was shot dead by Italian police whilst on the run.

Skip next section All Content on this topic

All Content on this topic

Armed police dressed in black in Magdeburg following the car-ramming

What we know about the Magdeburg attack suspect

A man arrested after a car plowed into revelers at a Christmas market is reportedly a critic of Islam and AfD supporter.
CrimeDecember 21, 2024
Barechested man being escorted out of a building by police officers in protection gear

Is Islamist terror a threat to Germany?

The arrest of two terror suspects once again raises questions about the scope of the terrorist threat.
PoliticsJanuary 12, 2023
damaged lorry used for attack

Can Germany prevent Islamist attacks?

The Counter Terrorism Center is where agencies and police network to prevent Islamist attacks. Is it working?
TerrorismJuly 23, 2022
Pictures of Hanau attack victims with candles and flowers

Germany remembers victims of terrorism

As German leaders gather for a first-ever event to remember victims of terror attacks, many feel left out in the cold.
SocietyMarch 11, 2022
The Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz, the site of a terrorist attack in 2016, is open under coronavirus restrictions

Germany remembers Christmas market attack victims

Five years after failed asylum-seeker Anis Amri drove a truck through a crowd in central Berlin, many questions remain.
PoliticsDecember 19, 2021
In this December 2016 file photo, a police officer stands near the scene of the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market terrorist attack

'Serious' errors led to Berlin terror attack: report

A Berlin parliament committee concluded that bureaucratic failures made the 2016 terrorist attack possible.
TerrorismAugust 9, 2021
Screenshot of Abu Walaa seen from behind

Preacher guilty of recruiting for IS

The trial of suspected Islamic State recruiter Abu Walaa has lasted three and a half years in the German city of Celle.
CrimeFebruary 24, 2021
Police cars at the scene of the attack by Berlin's Gedächtnis church

Berlin Islamist terror attack: A deadly story of failure

In 2016 Germany saw its worst Islamist attack to date. Today many questions are still unanswered.
SocietyDecember 18, 2020
Berlin courthouse

Germany: Islamist jailed over planned attack

A Berlin court has sentenced an Islamist to more than five years in jail for preparing a dangerous attack.
CrimeJanuary 24, 2020
A woman lights a candle at the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz at the memorial for the victims of the assassination on December 19, 2016.

Breitscheidplatz: A Christmas market like no other

The Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin: centrally located and famous for a sad reason.
TravelDecember 19, 2019
Magomed-Ali C.'s lawyers stand waiting for their client in a Berlin court room

Trial of Berlin bomb plotter begins

Magomed-Ali C. was arrested in August 2018 on suspicion of planning a bomb attack at a shopping center in Berlin.
CrimeMay 16, 2019
German SEK special police

Germany: Islamist charged with bomb plot

The planned attack to "kill as many people as possible," was foiled by police in 2016.
TerrorismMarch 5, 2019
Police work at the site of an accident at a Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz square

Germany cannot find Berlin terror associate

A friend of the Berlin Christmas market attacker is at the center of a probe into security shortcomings.
TerrorismMarch 1, 2019
People look at a memorial on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice

Berlin attacker's friend traveled to Nice

A friend of the Berlin Christmas market attacker may have been in Nice around the time of a deadly attack in July 2016.
TerrorismFebruary 27, 2019
A woman placing a flower at Breitscheidplatz memrial

'Terrorist accomplice' in Berlin attack deported

German reportedly deported a key suspect in the Berlin Christmas market attack before he was questioned.
Law and JusticeFebruary 22, 2019
The scene at the Recklinghausen bus stop after the deadly accident took place

Driver plows car into pedestrians at German bus stop

Recklinghausen police have said that several people were injured and one killed in the incident.
Cars and TransportationDecember 20, 2018
A woman lays a flower at a memorial to the victims of the 2016 Christmas market attack in Berlin, Germany

Germany grapples with Berlin terror attack two years on

Many gathered in Berlin to remember the victims, but questions about the attacker remain unanswered two years later.
TerrorismDecember 19, 2018
A person places a candle in front flowers at a memorial at the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market

Anis Amri was 'part of a terror cell' - reports

The information from the Italian police was apparently released just two weeks after the terror attack.
CrimeDecember 15, 2018
Workers install a barricade around Breitscheidplatz

New security measures at Berlin Christmas market

Christmas markets are a highlight of the holidays for Germans, but attempts to keep them safe could disrupt the magic.
SocietyNovember 23, 2018
Police guard the entrance to the Manchester Arena stadium in UK

MI5 missed 'opportunities' to prevent Manchester attack

A parliamentary committee has criticized failures by British security services and police ahead of the May 2017 attack.
TerrorismNovember 22, 2018
A man looks at his cellphone as he walks on the street

Money and attention: The world of police informants

Despite the use of informants, police weren’t able to stop terrorist Anis Amri. Should they still rely on such sources?
CrimeNovember 15, 2018
Truck used by Amri surrounded by a crowd after the 2016 attack

Police hunt Berlin truck attack accomplice

Amri messaged the man from the stolen truck while heading to the site of the Christmas market terror strike in Berlin.
TerrorismJuly 6, 2018
Berlin terrorist attack 2016

German govt blocking Amri investigation: MPs

German MPs investigating the case of Anis Amri have decided to go to court to get access to intelligence documents.
PoliticsJune 11, 2018
Policeman standing at Berlin Half Marathon

Berlin Half Marathon 'crime' suspects freed

Six men detained on suspicion of planning an attack at the sporting event in the German capital have been released.
Law and JusticeApril 9, 2018
Italian police hold a press conference after the arrested of a suspected "Islamic State" supporter planning a terror attack.

Italy arrests 5 Tunisians in anti-terror raids

One of the suspects is believed to have planned to provide false documents to the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attacker.
TerrorismMarch 29, 2018
Christmas market in Berlin, 2016

Germany re-examines Christmas market attack

Germany's parliament has launched a new investigation into why the country's security forces failed to stop Anis Amri.
CrimeMarch 1, 2018
Klaus Kandt, former Berlin police chief

Berlin police chief forced out after years of scandal

Since Klaus Kandt took the job in 2012, there have been accusations of negligence, abuse of power and cover-ups.
Law and JusticeFebruary 26, 2018
German special forces carrying out a terrorist drill

Germany: How do terrorist groups compare?

Experts have tried identifying similarities and differences between left-wing and right-wing terrorism in Germany.
PoliticsFebruary 25, 2018
One of the suspects with a pixelated face

'Islamic State' suspects go on trial in Berlin

The four alleged 'IS' supporters are believed to have known Berlin Christmas market attacker Anis Amri.
TerrorismFebruary 15, 2018
Members of Germany's elite GSG9 police unit

Germany expands anti-terror squad GSG 9

The German federal police are expanding their anti-terrorism unit GSG 9 and installing a special squad in Berlin.
PoliticsJanuary 15, 2018
Angela Merkel visits Breitscheidplatz

Merkel meets with Christmas market victims after criticism

Chancellor Merkel was slammed by survivors and relatives for not reaching out to them nearly a year after the attack.
TerrorismDecember 18, 2017
Guns

How dangerous are 'dangerous' German Islamists?

German police are applying more sophisticated criteria in their assessment of what they call Islamist "endangerers."
Law and JusticeDecember 18, 2017
The parents of Lukasz Urban at his grave

Disappointed with Germany

The parents of the Polish truck driver killed in the Berlin Christmas market attack feel left alone with their grief.
SocietyDecember 18, 2017
A police officer and a photo of Anis Amri

Christmas market terrorist Amri a 'lure'?

According to data obtained by Welt newspaper, German authorities knew in 2015 that Anis Amri presented a clear danger.
PoliticsDecember 17, 2017
Raids on Islamists in Berlin

Berlin anti-terror raids linked to Amri

Police have carried out nine raids in connection with an investigation into last December's Christmas market attack.
Law and JusticeDecember 14, 2017
Deutschland Anschlag mit LKW auf Weihnachtsmarkt in Berlin

German government criticized over terror compensation

One year on from the terrorist attack, victims and relatives are set to get more money and better help.
PoliticsDecember 13, 2017
Angela Merkel (center) stands in silence with Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere and Berlin Mayor Michael Müller at the Christmas market in Berlin a day after a terror attack

Merkel to meet terror victims' relatives

The relatives of 12 people killed in a terror attack last year have accused the chancellor of "political inaction."
PoliticsDecember 4, 2017
Scene after the attack

Merkel slammed over terror response

Relatives of 12 people killed in last year's terror attack in Berlin say they have been "left in the lurch."
TerrorismDecember 2, 2017
Breitscheidplatz Christmas Merket

Berlin Christmas market opens with calm atmosphere

Security has been tightened, but otherwise things were relaxed at the site of the 2016 terror attack.
PoliticsNovember 27, 2017
Berlin Trauer Weihnachtsmarkt Breitscheidplatz

Berlin market attack inquiry slams police 'sloppiness'

The final report paints a startling picture of police "failures" to arrest Anis Amri before the Christmas market attack.
TerrorismOctober 12, 2017
Breitscheidplatz after the terror attack

Amri search delayed hours

A leaked Berlin police inquiry report suggests command delays as terror suspect Anis Amri fled Germany toward Italy.
PoliticsSeptember 16, 2017
Christmas market attack in Berlin

Help for Berlin terror victims

After a poor start, Germany has begun offering meaningful help to those affected by the Berlin Christmas market attack.
PoliticsAugust 9, 2017
Anis Amri burial Tunisia

Berlin market attacker Anis Amri buried in Tunisia

Amri's family members said their goodbyes in his hometown in Tunisia, they told DW.
TerrorismAugust 6, 2017
Anis Amri police photos

Berlin launches probe into Christmas market attack

Anis Amri was known to authorities, and had been under police surveillance before carrying out the December rampage.
PoliticsJuly 14, 2017
Deutschland Berlin Trauer nach Anschlag auf Breitscheidplatz

Lawyer demands 100 million euros for Amri victims

Following allegations of a cover-up in the Amri case, a victims' lawyer has asked for 100 million euros in damages.
Law and JusticeMay 19, 2017
Thomas de Maizière Bundesinnenminister

German government demands action on Amri cover-up

Interior Minister de Maiziere said it was unconscionable that police may have tried to cover up their mistakes.
TerrorismMay 18, 2017
Deutschland Andreas Geisel

Berlin terrorist Anis Amri was known drug dealer

Up to six months before Anis Amri killed 12 people, police allegedly had enough evidence to jail him for dealing drugs.
CrimeMay 17, 2017
Berlin Anschlag - Fahndungsfoto Anis Amri

Fallout after Berlin attack inquiry

German politicians have descended into a row over why the Berlin Christmas market attack was not prevented.
TerrorismMarch 29, 2017
Deutschland LKW nach dem Anschlag am Breitscheidplatz in Berlin

Probe: No gross misconduct in Amri case

A probe aims to dispel accusations of misconduct over state authorities' handling of Berlin attacker Anis Amri.
TerrorismMarch 27, 2017
Deutschland LKW nach dem Anschlag am Breitscheidplatz in Berlin

German police predicted Berlin terror attack

Months before Anis Amri rammed a truck into a crowded market, German police warned he was planning an attack.
Law and JusticeMarch 26, 2017