Germany Hunts ‘Violent and Armed’ Tunisian in Truck Attack

Germany Hunts ‘Violent and Armed’ Tunisian in Truck Attack
A policeman watches monitors displaying images delivered by surveillance cameras in the Marxloh district of Duisburg, western Germany, on December 21, 2016. ROLAND WEIHRAUCH/AFP/Getty Images
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BERLIN—Germany on Wednesday launched a Europe-wide manhunt for a “violent and armed” Tunisian man with ties to Islamic extremists who has used at least six different names and three different nationalities, saying he is a suspect in the Berlin Christmas market attack.

A German security official said that authorities had considered him a possible terror threat previously and had been trying to deport him after his asylum application was rejected this summer.

Germany issued a notice to other European countries overnight seeking the arrest of 24-year-old Anis Amri, but initially held off on going public so as not to jeopardize the manhunt. After German media published photos of him and a partial name, federal prosecutors went public with the information.