Author of Selfie With Merkel Upset About Comparison to Brussels Terrorist

The 19-year-old Syrian refugee Anas Modamani, whose selfie with Merkel has been vividly discussed by Internet users due to his striking resemblance to the Brussels bomber Najim Laachraoui, told Deutsche Welle that he was upset about the situation.

Modamani, who is currently living with a German family in Berlin, said he was anxious that the rumors might be taken seriously by German law-enforcement services and urged the police to search his house.

The young man also added that he was unhappy about the way the picture was used on the Internet.

Modamani left Damascus to escape violence and arrived in Germany in September 2015. Since the beginning of 2016, he has been living in the German capital and attending German language courses. In the near future, the young man plans to bring his family to Germany.

The heated debate started after the hacker group Anonymous posted a photo of Angela Merkel standing next to Modamani on Facebook. The picture was taken in a refugee camp in the district of Spandau in Berlin.

Merkel selfy with Brussels terrorist pic.twitter.com/Br4IlIgYEb

— dave rocki (@RockiDave) 25 марта 2016 г.

Social media users argued that Modamani looked like Najim Laachraoui, one of the terrorists responsible for the recent attacks in Brussels. The rumors, however, were refuted by the media soon after the publication.

A series of terrorist attacks took place in the Brussels Airport and the Maelbeek metro station on Tuesday morning. As a result of the attacks at least 31 people were killed and over 300 injured.