Chancellor Angela Merkel has strongly condemned recent brutal attacks in Germany but she rejected calls to reverse her welcoming stance toward refugees.
Merkel told reporters on July 28 that terrorists wanted to reduce Germany's willingness to "take in people who are in need."
"They see hatred and fear between cultures and they see hatred and fear between religions. We stand decisively against that," she said.
Germany witnessed four violent attacks within a week -- an ax rampage by an Afghan asylum seeker, a shooting spree by a German-Iranian dual national, a knife attack by a Syrian refugee, and a suicide bombing by another Syrian migrant.
The attacks left 13 dead, including three assailants, and dozens wounded.
Merkel said the attacks were "shocking, oppressive, and depressing" but not a sign that authorities had lost control.
Merkel’s government has come under mounting criticism for its open-door policy after she opened Germany's borders to some 1 million migrants -- mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq -- in 2015.