Police stand guard near the site of a lorry crash at a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, Dec. 19, 2016. A lorry ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing nine people and injuring 50 others, Berlin police have announced. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday condemned "in the strongest terms" an attack on Christmas Market in Berlin, Germany which killed at least nine.
"We have been in touch with German officials, and we stand ready to provide assistance as they recover from and investigate this horrific incident," said U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price in a statement.
A lorry ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing nine people and injuring 50 others, Berlin police have announced.
The truck drove over the sideway at Breitscheidplatz, a major public square near the location of the iconic Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, in the inner city of Berlin, the police tweeted.
The motive of the incident remains unknown. Police have begun investigations which point to a possible terrorist attack.
The background of the incident is still unclear, the police added.
"We mourn the dead and hope that many injured people can be helped," German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert tweeted on Monday night.
A series of attacks occurred in Germany in this summer, raising concerns over the safety of the country in the fallout of refugee influx in recent years.
