Without backing up his claim, US President-elect Donald Trump is blaming terrorism for deadly violence in Turkey and Germany and vowing anew to eradicate their regional and global networks. Authorities in both countries were still investigating on Monday when Trump issued a pair of statements condemning the incidents. The White House had already described the episode in central Berlin, in which a truck rammed into shoppers at a Christmas market, as an apparent terrorist attack. Trump called the brazen shooting of Russia's ambassador to Turkey as he attended a photo exhibit "a violation of all rules of civilized order." He added that a "radical Islamic terrorist" had assassinated the diplomat, Andrei Karlov. Turkish authorities identified the gunman as Mevlut Mert Altintas, a member of Ankara's riot police squad, and said he was later killed in a shootout with police. Altintas shouted in Turkish about the Syrian city of Aleppo and also yelled "Allahu akbar," the Arabic phrase for "God is great." In Berlin, where at least 12 people were killed, Trump said Daesh (the so-called IS) "and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad." He added that these terrorists and their regional and worldwide networks "must be eradicated from the face of the earth" and pledged to carry out that mission with "all freedom-loving partners." Trump's transition team did not respond to requests to cite the sources for his claims of terrorist involvement. He later tweeted: "Today there were terror attacks in Turkey, Switzerland and Germany — and it is only getting worse. The civilized world must change thinking!" In Zurich, police said three people were wounded when a gunman opened fire in the prayer hall of a mosque frequented by Somali immigrants. Trump vowed during the presidential campaign to go after Daesh, but repeatedly declined to fill in the public on his plan. — Agencies
