No doubt Berlin truck incident was terrorist attack – German Interior Ministry

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said there is "no doubt" that the truck incident at a Christmas market in Berlin was a terrorist attack.

"At this point, we have no doubt that this horrific crime was a terrorist attack," de Maiziere told a news conference on Tuesday. He added that there is no evidence so far to indicate the suspect is linked to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) or any other terrorist group.

De Maiziere also confirmed reports that the suspect "comes from Pakistan" and had applied for asylum. He entered Germany in December 2015 and came to Berlin in February this year. De Maiziere added that the man was not on any database for terrorism suspects.

German media identified the suspect as a 23-year-old Pakistani national, Naved B.

Berlin police detained ‘wrong man,’ truck attacker still at large, armed – reports

Berlin police tweeted that they are still on alert, after the Pakistani suspect denied any involvement in the truck attack.

"The temporarily-arrested suspect denies the offense. Therefore we are particularly alert. Please be also alert," the police wrote.

Police said later that they were unsure of whether the detained Pakistani suspect was the actual perpetrator. Head of Berlin police Klaus Kandt said “it is unclear whether [the suspect] was really the truck driver.”