A suicide bomber has blown himself up in a terrorist attack in Ansbach, Germany, injuring 15 people in the process.
The 27-year-old Syrian man detonated the bomb after he was not allowed to attend the Ansbach Open music festival on Sunday night (July 24th).
He is known locally as Mohammed Deleel and had lived in Germany for two years before being denied asylum in 2015.
A video found on his mobile phone showed he had pledged allegiance to the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) and threatened to attack Germany.
Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann said: “According to this video, it is beyond doubt that this attack was a terrorist attack with a perpetrator who had Islamic convictions.”
Authorities also found bomb-making materials in his apartment following the incident, including hydrochloric acid, soldering irons, wires and fuel.
Since the attack, Islamic State has named Mr Deleel a “soldier of Islamic State” on its Amaq news agency.
Festival security staff first grew suspicious of Mr Deleel when they noticed he was pacing outside the concert around 21:45. Shortly after, at 22:30, the explosion hit the seating area outside of the grounds where more than 2,000 people were attending the festival. Four of the 15 who were injured suffered serious complications, although no one died.
While this is being treated as a terrorist attack due to his connections with Islamic State, the suicide bomber had tried to take his own life twice before.
Germany has been hit by a series of serious incidents this week, including a shooting spree in Munich, a machete attack on a Polish woman, and terrorist violence with an axe by an Afghan refugee in Wurzburg.
This recent bout of attacks highlights the importance of having blast protection window film in towns and cities. Installing this in buildings protects those inside and passers-by, as it stops the glass from shattering when an explosion hits. This also reduces the damage caused following a bomb.
