Suspect confesses to terrorist attack on football fans in Germany

A 36-year-old man has confessed to carrying out a terrorist attack on football fans in May in the western German city of Bielefeld, a German court heard on Monday.

On the first day of the trial, a psychiatric expert told the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court that the suspect considered the killing of infidels to be part of a jihad and therefore justified.

The incident on May 18, 2025, left four men with critical injuries after the suspect allegedly attacked them with a modified walking stick, to which he had attached an 18-centimetre blade.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office has charged the alleged attacker, Mahmoud M, with four counts of attempted murder.

Prosecutors consider the 36-year-old to be a member of the Islamic State terrorist group and the attack to be an Islamist-motivated act of terrorism.

Mahmoud M is said to have received ideological and military training in Syria, where he took part in combat missions for Islamic State until he was injured. 

The Syrian admitted to the psychiatrist that he had worked for Islamic State as a real estate agent, but not as a fighter.

The 36-year-old reportedly regrets his actions and said he was depressed at the time of the attack due to his loneliness and marginalization in Germany. He had been unable to leave the country because he did not have a passport.

Five months before the crime, he is said to have started watching videos from the Islamic State militia. However, he has reportedly refused to participate in a deradicalization programme.