Angela Merkel praised the "highly professional work" of federal and state police. (File Photo)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday she was proud of the calm public response to the attack against a Berlin Christmas market that killed 12 people.
"In the past few days I have been very proud of how calmly most people reacted to the situation," she said about Monday's truck rampage, which has been claimed by Islamic State jihadists.
"I am certain we will meet this test we are facing," she said, adding that she was "very hopeful" the suspected attacker, Tunisian rejected asylum seeker Anis Amri, would be caught soon.
Joining Merkel before the TV cameras, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said evidence indicated "a high probability that the suspect is the perpetrator", adding that Amri's "fingerprints were found in the truck cabin".
Merkel said Germany had "known for a long time that we are in the crosshairs of Islamic terrorism. And yet, when it happens ... it is a totally different situation."
Merkel praised the "highly professional work" of federal and state police as well as the "smooth cooperation" with international partner organisations.
Her comments came despite harsh criticism for security and migration agencies after it emerged Amri was a rejected asylum seeker and known radical jihadist who had been under police observation for months for plotting an attack before surveillance was dropped.
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