Saudis warned Germany about Christmas market attack suspect 'many times'

Saudi authorities had previously requested the extradition of the main suspect in Friday's Christmas market attack in Germany, a source close to the Riyadh government told Agence France-Presse yesterday, as several agencies admitted they had received warnings about him.

- Kate Connolly

The source said Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities "many times" about Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a Saudi citizen with a history of spreading anti-Islamic propaganda on social media.

"There was [an extradition] request," the source told AFP, without giving the reason for the request, adding that Riyadh had warned Abdulmohsen "could be dangerous".

Questions are mounting in Germany about whether the attack in Magdeburg that killed five people might have been prevented.

Reports have emerged about lapses in security, questionable immigration decisions and attempts by police to confront Abdulmohsen over threatening behaviour that were allegedly not followed through.

Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old consultant psychiatrist, is being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

Four women and a nine-year-old boy were killed in the attack when a black Mercedes SUV ploughed 400 metres into crowds of people at the Christmas market in the centre of Magdeburg, a city in eastern Germany.

More than 230 people were injured in the attack, 41 of whom remain in a critical condition. The injured figure was revised upwards yesterday from a previous number of about 200.

Holger Münch, the head of the federal criminal police office, said Germany had received a warning from Saudi Arabia last year, but on investigation had found it too vague to act upon.