Wilders renews call to "de-Islamize" after attacks in Germany

By Janene Pieters on Monday, 25 July 2016 - 09:21
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PVV leader Geert Wilders renewed his call to "de-Islamize" the West following two attacks in Germany over the weekend. On Friday nine people were killed and ten seriously injured when a psychologically disturbed high school student opened fire in a shopping center in Munich. On Sunday night 12 people were injured in a suicide bombing by a Syrian asylum seeker in Ansbach.

"Syrian. Again. And it will get much worse since our borders are still open and our 'leaders' are cowards and weak", Wilders said on social media platform Twitter following Sunday's attack. "We have imported a monster, and this monster is called Islam."

Sunday's suicide bombing happened around 10:15 p.m. at a wine bar in Ansbach's old city center. The only one killed in the incident so far was the perpetrator - a 27-year-old asylum seeker. Bavarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Joachim Herrmann considers this an Islamic terrorist attack and believes it may be connected to terrorist organization Islamic State, according to ANP.

According to news wire AP, the suicide bomber first tried to gain access to a music festival in the city, but was sent away because he did not have a ticket.

The Syrian arrived in Germany and applied for asylum two years ago. Last year his application was denied for unknown reasons, but given the situation in Syria, he was allowed to stay in Germany for the time being, NU.nl reports. The man tried to commit suicide twice before and therefore spent time in a psychiatric facility.

So far there are no indications that the mass murder in Munich on Friday was related to terrorism, ISIS or the refugee crisis, the German police said on Saturday. All indications show that the perpetrator - a teenager born in Germany who grew up in Munich - acted alone. Though a 16-year-old Afghan boy was arrested on Sunday. The German authorities describe him as a "friend of the shooter" and he is suspected of not informing the police about the shooter's plans.

The Munich teen committed suicide after his attack. On his computer the police found photos of a school in Winneden where a 17-year-old killed 15 people before committing suicide in 2009. It also contained the "manifesto" of a Norwegian mass murderer who killed 77 people in July 2011.

Nine people were killed in the shooting and a total of 16 were injured, 10 of whom seriously. On Sunday three of those injured were still in the hospital in critical condition.

On Saturday Prime Minister Mark Rutte expressed his condolences with Munich and those mourning friends and family members after Friday's attack. "Ordinary people, shopping and working on an ordinary Friday night, were brutally murdered or injured. We think of them and their families." Rutte wrote on Facebook. "I've expressed our condolences to Chancellor Merkel and assured her that the Netherlands stands ready to assist where needed in these sad moments."

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