Five people were killed and over 200 were injured when a car was driven through crowds at the Christmas market in Magdeburg in eastern Germany. The far-right Alternative for Germany held a rally in the city on Monday.

Disbelief dominates Germany’s Magdeburg at Christmas, days after the deadly car attack:: Magdeburg, Germany:: December 24, 2024“There is still the disbelief, the shock that this can happen like this and that it affects innocent people who have died and who have been injured.

Despite the suspect's many statements expressing hostility to Islam, the head of the AfD in Sachsen-Anhalt, Martin Reichardt, said in a statement "the attack in Magdeburg shows that Germany is being drawn into political and religious fanaticism that has its origins in another world".

Anyone who does not like Germany should leave Germany immediately, said Alice Weidel, co-chair of the Alternative for Germany party, candidate for chancellor, speaking to demonstrators in Magdeburg the day before.

Saudi doctor, Taleb A., accused of the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, was the subject of a speech by the leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). She claimed that the attacker was a secret Islamist hiding in a non-Islamic society.