Germany

Below, quite a good recap of some of the events that define Germany in the past few weeks.

Monday’s Islamic terror attack in Cologne was meant to be MUCH worse

From our translator, MissPiggy with much thanks

The suit cases of the train station terrorist were filled with fire accelerants.

Steel balls were attached.

Cologne terrorist wanted to do “immense damage”. (Not getting this news in Germany)   

If the identified culprit, a 55-year-old Syrian, had exploded his total inventory of gasoline and gas cartridges, with steel balls attached, there would have been a much more violent crime on Monday with “much greater damage” created, said Cologne Chief of Criminal Klaus-Stephan Becker on Tuesday

Cologne: ‘Islamic State Sympathiser’ Takes Hostage, Sets Fires

From Breitbart:

Heavily armed police units deployed to the German city of Cologne Monday after shots were reported to have been fired and a hostage taken at the city’s central rail station.

Travellers were ordered to evacuate the large central station, which sits on Cologne’s Dom Platz beneath the city’s historic cathedral early Monday afternoon.

Update 1700BST: Attacker spoke in Arabic about Islamic State

The Cologne hostage situation is now over, German police have stormed the pharmacy where the alleged attacker is reported to have holed up with a captured woman, having previously attacked a 14-year-old girl with fire at a McDonald’s restaurant.

 

Cologne’s Express newspaper reports both the hostage and the attacker have been injured. The suspect is reported to have spoken in Arabic about the Islamic State.

MissPiggy translated the following news video from the scene:

DW confirms it was a Syrian Asylum seeker: