U.S. President Barack Obama participates in his last news conference of the year at the White House before leaving for his annual Hawaiian Christmas holiday in Washington, U.S., December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday night to offer condolences and U.S. help after a truck crashed into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 and wounding dozens, the White House said.

Obama offered condolences for the “horrific apparent terrorist attack,” it said in a statement on Tuesday. “The president reiterated the U.S. offer of assistance and underscored that no attack could sway our determination - and that of our German allies - to defeat terrorism in all of its forms,” the statement said.