Europe

German, French leaders pay tribute to extremist attack dead

Associated Press
Published | Updated

German Chancellor Angela Merkel,left, and the President of France, Francois Hollande, lay down flowers to commemorate the victims of a terror attack on the Breitscheidplatz last December in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel,left, and French President Francois Hollande visit the site of the terror attack to lay flowers at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017.( Monika Skolimowska/dpa via AP) (The Associated Press)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and the President of France, Francois Hollande, left, address the media during a joint statement as part of a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have paid tribute to the victims of a truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin a month ago.

The two leaders placed flowers Friday at a makeshift memorial on the capital's Breitscheidplatz where a Tunisian man whose asylum application had been rejected drove a hijacked truck into the market, killing 12 and wounding dozens of others.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

At a joint press conference ahead of visiting the site, Merkel and Hollande said Islamic extremism was a problem for all of Europe, and vowed to work together to fight it.