Saudi Arabia warned Germany ahead of Christmas market ramming, source claims

 The death toll in a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has risen to five people, and more than 200 have been injured, many of them seriously, state premier Reiner Haseloff said on Saturday.

The BBC reported that the Magdeburg Municipal Hospital's medical director said that over 80 people were treated yesterday.

"Some patients had to undergo emergency surgery, some are now in intensive care,” he said, as reported by the BBC. 

The driver has since been arrested, according to multiple German media reports. Police said the driver drove "at least 400 meters across the Christmas market"  through the crowds in three minutes.

Prosecutors expect to charge the suspect with murder and attempted murder, the head of the local prosecutor's office said on Saturday.

German newspaper Welt published that the driver was a doctor from Saudi Arabia and is approximately 50 years old. The site also claimed the driver had a number of suitcases with him, and police were searching to see if any contained explosive materials. No explosives were found in the driver's belongings. 

The motive for the attack remains unclear, but the suspect's dissatisfaction with Germany's treatment of Saudi refugees may have played a role, the prosecutor in the central city of Magdeburg told a press conference following Friday's attack.

Anti-Islam activist

Germany's FAZ newspaper said it interviewed the suspect in 2019, describing him as an anti-Islam activist.

"People like me, who have an Islamic background but are no longer believers, are met with neither understanding nor tolerance by Muslims here," he was quoted as saying. "I am history's most aggressive critic of Islam. If you don't believe me, ask the Arabs."

The suspect arrested in connection with a deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg was Islamophobic, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters on Saturday.

"This was clear to see," Faeser said.

The minister declined to elaborate on the man's political affiliations.

Emergency services have set up tents to care for the wounded, while 10-20 have reportedly arrived at Magdeburg University Hospital for emergency treatment.

The spokesperson for Magdeburg, located some 150 kilometers (93 miles) south-west of Berlin, said the incident appeared to be a deliberate attack. 

A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views on his personal X account that threatened peace and security.

A video posted on social media from a position above the market shows a car driving at speed through a crowd walking between two rows of market stalls. People can be seen knocked to the ground and running away. Reuters was able to verify the location, with the trees, outline and design of the buildings matching file and satellite imagery of the area.

Footage from a local broadcaster showed people wrapped in blankets on the ground receiving care in the wake of the attack.

Bild newspaper quoted a witness named only as Nadine saying she had been walking arm-in-arm with her boyfriend, Marco, when the car came hurtling towards them.

"He was hit and ripped away from my side," Bild cited her as saying, adding that he had been injured on his leg and head and taken to hospital, but she did not know where to find him.

"The uncertainty is unbearable," she told Bild.

Local reactions

"It is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg, for the state and for Germany in general,"  Reiner Haseloff, premier of the state of Saxony-Anhalt said, adding that the death toll could rise given the severity of some of the injuries.

Haseloff described the attacker as a 50-year-old male doctor from Saudi Arabia with permanent residency in Germany, where he had lived for almost two decades.

"As things stand at the moment, we are talking about a lone offender, which means that there is no further danger to the city because we were able to arrest him."

"This is a terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas," Haseloff told MDR, adding that he was on his way to Magdeburg.

Matthias Schuppe, a government spokesman in the province of Saxony-Anholt, said it was an “attack” in comments to local media. 

A spokesperson for local police said: “We do not yet know exactly what happened.”

An unknown number of people were wounded, although Bild reported the figure was over 60. Hospitals as far as 80 km away are preparing to receive those wounded in the attack, according to Bild. 

Despite Bild's estimates,  the city spokesman Michael Reif told MDR it was still too early to give exact figures. "I estimate there are at least 20 ambulances here, a lot of firefighters, and I can see the police helicopter circling in the sky," an MDR reporter said during a live broadcast, adding that there were a lot of armed police on site.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the Magdeburg events "suggest something terrible."

"My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones," he wrote on X/Twitter in German. "We stand by them and the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue teams during these anxious hours."

He is expected to visit the scene on Saturday together with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

Germany's Christmas markets

Christmas markets have been eyed as potential target sites by terrorists in Germany for some time. Only two weeks ago, German authorities arrested an Iraqi national suspected of targeting a Christmas market. 

Last year, Christmas markets in Germany and Austria were put on high alert for fears of a potential attack.

In 2016, a truck rammed into a Christmas market in Berlin killing 12 people and wounding 48.

International reactions

Saudi Arabia condemned the ramming attack, the Gulf country's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia's statement made no mention of the suspect, who is of Saudi origin. 

US billionaire Elon Musk, set to join President-elect Donald Trump's administration as an outside adviser, called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to resign after the incident. 

"Scholz should resign immediately," Musk posted on X, adding: "Incompetent fool."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar condemned the incident and confirmed that he contacted German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in a post on X/Twitter on Saturday. 

"Shocking images from Magdeburg, Germany last night," he wrote. "Israel stands with the German people in their mourning and offers any assistance required."

This is a developing story.