Syrian asylum seeker stabbed Spanish tourist near Holocaust memorial in Berlin

A 19-year-old asylum seeker from Syria has been arrested in connection with the stabbing of a Spanish tourist near the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin on Friday evening. Authorities are treating the incident as a politically motivated crime with possible ties to Islamist extremism.

The attack took place at approximately 6 p.m. in the Mitte district, near the U.S. Embassy. According to reports from German daily Bild. The suspect, identified as Wassim al M., was found with a blood-stained knife and blood on his hands when apprehended by police. Due to German privacy laws, his full name has not been disclosed. The 30-year-old Spanish victim was stabbed in the neck and was rushed to a hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. Medical professionals have since reported that he is in stable condition.

Berlin police have revealed that the suspect had a history of antisemitic views and had allegedly been planning an attack against Jewish individuals for several weeks. Upon his arrest, officers found a Qur’an, a prayer rug, and a piece of paper with Islamic verses in his possession. The suspect, who arrived in Germany in 2023 and was granted asylum, was living in state-provided refugee accommodations in Leipzig.

The State Criminal Police Office 8, which specializes in handling cases related to Islamic terrorism, has taken over the investigation. German broadcaster NTV reported that the suspect was “scantily clad” at the time of his arrest and lacked identification documents.

The attack comes just as German voters are set to cast their ballots in federal elections on Sunday, where issues of mass migration and Islamic terrorism have been key topics of debate. Over the past year, Germany has seen a series of violent attacks perpetrated by migrants and asylum seekers in cities such as Mannheim, Solingen, Magdeburg, Aschaffenburg, and Munich. Earlier this week, an 18-year-old Chechen migrant was arrested in connection with an alleged plot to attack the Israeli Embassy in Berlin. The increasing frequency of such incidents has fueled national debates on immigration policy and security measures.