Suicide attack

[Newsa] Suicide bomb rocks Ansbach, Germany in third violent attack in Bavaria in days

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• published: 25 Jul 2016
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Story highlights Interior Ministry official says he does not know why deportation did not occur A Syrian asylum seeker blew himself up outside music festival in Ansbach, injuring 12 Ansbach, Germany (CNN) A Syrian man who exploded a suicide bomb outside a music festival in southern Germany was a rejected asylum seeker who was slated to be deported to Bulgaria, officials said. Twelve people were injured in Sunday night's blast in Ansbach, three of them seriously, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said at a news conference Monday. The bomber, who has not been named, was killed. Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH One person killed in explosion in southern Germany 01:41 He had applied for asylum, and his application was rejected about a year ago. But he was not sent back to Syria, as German policy does not allow rejected applicants to return to war zones. Rather, under the auspices of the Dublin Regulation -- a European Union law governing states' responsibility for asylum seekers -- the attacker was supposed to be deported to Bulgaria, the country where he had entered the EU, said Johannes Dimroth, spokesman for Germany's Federal Interior Ministry. Read More Dimroth said he did not know why the deportation had not been carried out, saying it was a matter for Bavarian state authorities. Music festival targeted The bombing, the fourth attack in southern Germany in a week, took place at the final concert of the Ansbach Open music festival Sunday night, where about 2,500 were in attendance, police said. At about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, security staff at the concert noticed a suspicious person wearing a backpack pacing up and down around the entrance to the event, a police statement said. The man had been denied entry into the concert since he did not have a ticket, according to Hermann. The police statement said that the bomber "lingered around in the outdoor seating area of a nearby wine restaurant." "An explosion took place at around 10:10 p.m. in that area after the young man briefly leaned forward, according to eye witness accounts," it said. The backpack used to carry an explosive device is found at the scene. The music festival and surrounding area were then evacuated. Herrmann said the attacker's backpack contained screws and nails in an apparent bid to inflict widespread damage. Attacker's home searched Bavarian state police are searching where the attacker lived in a hotel being used as a refugee shelter, according to spokesman Michael Petzold. He said the motive for the attack was not clear, but authorities were working to determine whether it was Islamist-related, and to determine whether the explosives were homemade. Police officers secure a street near where the bomber lived. The bomber was known to police in Ansbach for previous offenses, including drug crimes, Herrmann said. He had also twice attempted suicide before the bombing. "Because how this backpack and the bomb were packed, especially with so many metal splinters, which could have killed and injured many more people, this act cannot be purely assessed as a suicide," Herrmann said. The attack has not been confirmed as terrorism, Hermann said, but there are strong indications it may be. Ansbach, with about 40,000 people, is a major U.S. military garrison town, with around 5,000 members of the military living there along with civilians, contractors and retirees. There are three military installations in the Ansbach area, according to the garrison's website. String of attacks A police officer stands guard in Ansbach. The Ansbach bombing is the third attack in the southern German state of Bavaria in recent days. The spate of violence has rattled the country and fueled criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's immigration policies, with the hashtag #Merkelsommer, or "Merkel summer," circulating on social...