Berlin Breitscheidplatz: 'Migrant' detained over lorry attack

German police are questioning a man they believe ploughed a lorry into a busy Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.

The driver is an Afghan or Pakistani asylum seeker, according to security sources cited by DPA news agency.
He reportedly arrived in Germany in February as a refugee.
The daily Tagesspiegel said the man was known to the police for minor crimes, but not terror links.
German politicians have avoided branding the bloodshed a suspected terror attack at this stage, but interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told ARD television, "there are many things pointing to one".

Berlin Police said investigators were treating the crash as a deliberate act.

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The stricken market is at Breitscheidplatz, close to the Kurfuerstendamm, the main shopping street in Berlin's west.
The deadly incident unfolded in the shadow of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was damaged in a World War Two bombing raid and preserved as a symbol of peace.
The truck, which was loaded with steel beams, veered into the market at one of its busiest times, crashing through wooden huts and stands packed with tourists and locals.
 
The lorry driver was reportedly seized after leaving his truck and fleeing the carnage on foot.
Berlin police spokesman Winfried Wenzel told the German newspaper die Welt that the man ran down the street towards the Tiergarten, a large public park.
A witness followed him at a distance for over a mile (2 km), and called the police, who quickly detained him near the Victory Column monument.
The police spokesman speculated that the driver may have wanted to "find shelter in the darkness of the park".