‘German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted there is “no doubt” the recent spate of terrorist attacks that hit the country was the most challenging test it had to undergo this year. Refugee attackers “mocked” the readiness to help those in need, she added in her New Year’s address.

“The most serious test is undoubtedly Islamic terrorism, which has been targeting Germans for many years. In 2016, it attacked us in the middle of our country,” Merkel said, referring to Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL)-linked attacks in Wurzburg and Ansbach in July and to the recent attack on a Christmas market by Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri in Berlin.

The attack on a wine bar in the Bavarian city of Ansbach, which left 15 people wounded, was perpetrated by a Syrian refugee, who, like Amri, pledged allegiance to ISIS.’