Berlin police say shot dead man known to belong to ‘terrorist’ group

The 41-year-old Iraqi citizen, identified only as Rafik Y, was shot dead by police after they responded to calls of a man wielding a knife.

German police shot and killed a known Islamic extremist after he threatened passers-by and attacked an officer with a knife on the streets of Berlin, officials said Thursday.

German prosecutor Dirk Feuerberg said the Iraqi national is thought to be part of Berlin’s Islamist scene.

The man seriously injured a female officer before shooting and killing him, www.vosizneias.com reports.

Yousef was convicted of being a member of a group linked to al-Qaida in 2008 by a Stuttgart court, according to reports.

The three were convicted of belonging to a foreign terrorist organisation – the Iraqi militant group Ansar al-Islam – and attempted conspiracy to commit murder.

He is believed to have removed an electronic tag before the attack.

In the 2008 court case, Rafik Mohamad Yousef was one of three Iraqi men sentenced to jail terms.

German authorities wanted to deport him after the trial concluded but were stopped by EU human rights rules as he could have faced the death penalty in his native Iraq.

The officer, who was also struck in the kidney by a stray bullet, was rushed to A&E where she underwent emergency surgery but she is now stable in intensive care.