The Syrian asylum-seeker who is accused of staging an attack at Cologne's central train station this week could have been deported years ago, according to media reports on Friday.

The case bears similarities to that of Anis Amri, the Tunisian rejected asylum-seeker who carried out a truck attack at a Berlin Christmas market in 2016. Should the reports be confirmed, it could also reignite the debate in Germany over asylum policy and deportations.

What the reports say:

The suspect, identified as Mohammad A.R., could have been deported to the Czech Republic in 2015 since he first applied for asylum there before traveling to Germany, according to information obtained by German newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger and Focus magazine.

Under the European Union's Dublin Regulation, asylum-seekers must be processed at their point of entry into the bloc. Under those rules, German authorities should have sent him back.

However, Germany's Federal Office of Migration and Refugees (BAMF) missed a deadline to deport him back to the Czech Republic, according to the reports.

Since he wasn't deported, the BAMF then took over his case, granting him permission to stay in Germany until at least 2021.

Cologne station hostage situation: How it unfolded Woman taken hostage A man took a woman hostage at a pharmacy at Cologne train station around 12:45 p.m. (1045 UTC) on Monday, police said. Police believed the hostage-taker was armed. "We're doing everything to get the hostage out of there unharmed," police spokesman Christoph Gilles said initially.

Cologne station hostage situation: How it unfolded Cologne central station evacuated Cologne train station, one of the biggest in the country, was evacuated and cordoned off. Police urged locals to avoid the area and warned of likely disruptions to train services. Deutsche Bahn, Germany's main train operator, said the station would be closed until further notice and all traffic, including long-distance connections, had been suspended.

Cologne station hostage situation: How it unfolded Police in contact with hostage-taker DW's Dana Regev was at the scene and watched as negotiation crisis units. Police spokesman Christoph Gilles said they were working to find out "what the hostage-taker wants, what his demands are and whether he carries a weapon," adding that police were not aware of the man's motive.

Cologne station hostage situation: How it unfolded Witnesses heard shots Police could not confirm eye-witness reports that shots and explosions were heard. Ambulances and heavily-armed police were lined up and waiting behind the train station. DW's Dana Regev reported that two shots had been fired inside the station. A 14-year-old girl was seriously injured with burns during the course of the hostage situation.

Cologne station hostage situation: How it unfolded Hostage rescued Police captured the hostage-taker who was seriously injured and rescued the woman he had taken hostage. "The suspect is under control," Cologne police said. "A female hostage has sustained light injuries and is being tended to."

Cologne station hostage situation: How it unfolded Suspect claims to be IS member Police later said the suspect, who was badly wounded when police arrived, claimed to be a member of the Islamic State (IS). The man first hurled a Molotov cocktail inside a fast-food restaurant, injuring the 14-year-old girl, then took another woman hostage in a nearby pharmacy. He was holding a real or replica pistol when commandos stormed the site and was in possession of camping gas containers. Author: Louisa Wright



What happened during the Cologne attack? On Monday, panic was sparked after a man started a fire at a fast-food restaurant in Cologne's main train station. A 14-year-old girl sustained serious burns while a second person was treated for smoke inhalation. The suspect then ran out of the restaurant and entered a nearby pharmacy where he took a female employee hostage. After two hours, police stormed the pharmacy and shot the suspect several times. The hostage was injured but later released from the hospital.

Possible Islamist motive: Mohammad A.R. sustained serious injuries during the police operation and is currently still in a coma. He's been charged with attempted murder and serious bodily harm. Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday that there were enough indications to suggest that there was a "radical Islamist" motive behind the attack, although investigations are still ongoing.

What we know about the suspect:

Mohammad A.R. is a 55-year-old Syrian man who entered the European Union in early 2015 when he arrived in the Czech Republic. According to Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, he first filed an asylum application in Prague before later traveling further to Germany. In mid-March that year, he filed once again for asylum, but this time in Germany.

His case was eventually taken over by German authorities and he has been living in Cologne since July 2015.

Although witnesses reported that Mohammad A.R. said he was a member of the militant "Islamic State" (IS) group, police found little to link him to the group during a raid at the man's residence. According to police, the 55-year-old was unemployed and had a history of mental health issues.

Parallels to Berlin attack: Like Mohammad A.R., German authorities also failed to deport the suspect behind the 2016 Berlin terror attack, which killed 12 people. Anis Amri's asylum application had been rejected months before he carried out the Christmas market attack, but German authorities were initially unable to deport him and slow to react in order to secure alternative documents to ensure he would be deported.

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