Suspect in German Christmas market attack considered to be 'Islamophobic': Minister

The Saudi suspect arrested at the scene of Germany's deadly car-ramming attack on a Christmas market is considered to hold "Islamophobic" views, the interior minister said on Saturday.

The minister, Nancy Faeser, said that while she did not want to speculate about the motive, "the one thing" she could confirm was that he had expressed an "Islamophobic" stance.

The attack killed five people and wounded more than 200, Saxony-Anhalt state premier Reiner Haseloff said on Saturday, updating the toll.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was with him to pay respects in the eastern city of Magdeburg, voiced concern for some 40 critically injured people and condemned the "terrible catastrophe".

He pledged that Germany would respond "with the full force of the law" over "the terrible attack that injured and killed so many people" close to the anniversary of a deadly 2016 jihadist attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

Scholz also made a call for national unity at a time when Germany has been rocked by a heated debate on immigration and security as it heads towards elections in February.

The chancellor said it was important "that we stay together as a country, that we stick together, that we link arms, that it is not hatred that determines our coexistence but the fact that we are a community that seeks a common future."

He said he was grateful for expressions of "solidarity ... from many, many countries around the world" and said "it is good to hear that we as Germans are not alone in the face of this terrible catastrophe".

AFP