Berlin attacker had no accomplices in Switzerland
The Office of the Attorney General has closed a criminal investigation into Swiss links to the Tunisian terrorist who killed 12 people at a Christmas market in Berlin last year.
The office said on Wednesday it had found no further evidence that Anis Amri had received support from Islamist extremist groups in Switzerland. Amri, a 24-year-old Tunisian, rammed a stolen truck into the crowded market on December 19 and was shot dead four days later by Italian police near Milan.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack that left 12 dead and dozens injured. It was the first mass casualty attack carried out by Islamic extremists on German soil.
The Swiss investigation included examining a mobile phone with a Swiss SIM card that Amri had used after the attack.
The Swiss News Agency on Wednesday reported that the phone had been reported stolen in Berlin in September 2016. It remains unclear whether Amri stole the phone himself.
An additional “Swiss clue” fizzled out back in January. Amri had killed the driver of the truck used in the attack with a handgun that had been imported into Switzerland at the beginning of the 1990s. After the attack he used the same weapon to shoot at Italian police who had stopped him to check his identity.
However, according to the Federal Office of Police (fedpol), the weapon had been imported to Switzerland legally. Its journey after that was unknown.
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