Solingen 2024: Foreign intelligence recorded the claim video before the attack

Herz — World Desk · 17 July 2026 at 14:10 · 30s summary · 2 min read

What we know

According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, a foreign intelligence service — whose identity has not been made public — had recorded Issa al H.'s claim video before the commission of the Solingen attack and before its dissemination by the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS), the jihadist terrorist organization that proclaimed a caliphate in 2014.

On August 23, 2024, Issa al H. killed three people with a knife during the 650th anniversary celebration in Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The perpetrator was completely unknown to German security services before the attack.

After the attack, when German authorities released the suspect's photograph to solicit information from the public, the foreign intelligence service promptly sent them a screenshot extracted from the claim video. The photograph therefore only reached authorities after the massacre.

What the investigation committee reveals

This information was made public in July 2026 by Thomas Kutschaty (SPD), chairman of the parliamentary investigation committee — the Untersuchungsausschuss, an institution established by the NRW Landtag (state parliament) to clarify the circumstances of the attack and identify any government failures.

North Rhine-Westphalia's (NRW, Germany's most populous state) Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) testified before the committee. He stated that German authorities lack the legal capabilities used by the foreign service to intercept the video.

Reul clarified that intelligence provided by foreign services had already prevented several attacks on German soil. In the case of Solingen, the photograph only reached authorities after the tragedy.

Timeline

1. August 23, 2024 (before the attack)
   A foreign intelligence service records Issa al H.'s claim video, before the commission of the act and before its dissemination by the Islamic State.
2. August 23, 2024
   Issa al H. kills three people with a knife during Solingen's 650th anniversary celebration. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack.
3. After August 23, 2024
   German authorities release the suspect's photograph. The foreign service sends them a screenshot extracted from the claim video — after the massacre.