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Berlin Pride attacker recorded pledge of allegiance to IS, prosecutors say

By Thomson Reuters Jul 28, 2026 | 8:09 AM

BERLIN, July 28 (Reuters) – The man believed to be behind a deadly vehicle attack near Berlin’s Pride ​celebration over the weekend ‌left a video on his phone pledging allegiance to militant group Islamic State, German prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Though the person in ‌the ​video was masked, authorities ⁠assume it shows ⁠the suspected attacker, 21-year-old German citizen Abdul Ballout, a spokesperson for the federal prosecutors’ office said.

He would not ​specify when the video was recorded.

Ballout, who was shot dead by ⁠police on Sunday, ⁠is suspected of ploughing a vehicle ​into crowds in Tiergarten park near ​the Brandenburg Gate late on Saturday, ‌killing a Polish woman in her 60s and injuring 29 people.

Germany’s interior minister announced a security overhaul on ⁠Monday after the vehicle attack prompted an angry debate over why the suspected driver ⁠had been ‌freed under supervision of ⁠a probation officer and was ​not ‌in prison.

The suspect had been ​convicted ⁠and sentenced to jail time in May for preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state.

(Reporting by Markus WacketWriting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by ​Alexandra Hudson)