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Forensic officers in front of the gym in Duisburg's old town in April

Photo: Christoph Reichwein / dpa

A 27-year-old accused of murder has made a confession before the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf. He had committed the acts in Duisburg and wanted to fulfill the demand of the IS to kill his enemies.

The man is accused of stabbing a man to death in the early hours of April 9 this year in Duisburg's old town. On April 18, he is also said to have gone to a gym in Duisburg in order to kill as many as possible from his point of view "infidels". The Federal Prosecutor's Office has charged him with murder and attempted murder for Islamist motives.

He had acted on the demands and orders of ISIS, the man said in the trial. He wanted to kill as many people as possible. He also admitted to posting an ISIS article on Facebook on April 9.

The suspect was arrested after the second crime. According to SPIEGEL information, the emergency services found a note in his apartment on which compositions of explosives and poison gases are said to have been written in Arabic.

The Syrian came to Germany in 2016 via Libya and the Balkan route and applied for asylum. At the time, he told the authorities that they wanted to draft him into the army in Syria.

jpz/dpa