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Suspect in German shooting that killed 6 is found dead in his prison cell

BERLIN (AP) — The suspect in a shooting in northern Germany last month that left six people dead was found dead in his prison cell on Tuesday, authorities said.

The shooting in Stade, west of Hamburg, took place on June 29 at a facility that provides temporary accommodation for pregnant women or young mothers with children. The victims were employees of the shelter and of the regional youth welfare office.

Investigators believe the shooting was related to a custody dispute over the 3-month-old daughter of the suspect, a Turkish national born in Germany. He was under investigation on suspicion of murder.

The man, whom authorities have not named, was found dead early Tuesday in his cell at a prison in Bremervörde, near Stade, the regional justice ministry in Lower Saxony said. A doctor determined that he died by strangulation.

The investigation so far indicates that the suspect killed himself, the ministry said. It added that there was no indication of anyone else being involved.

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces group says it has dissolved after merging with the Syrian army

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on Tuesday announced the official dissolution of the group, which once controlled a de facto autonomous zone in Syria's northeast. Speaking during a news conference at the presidential palace in Damascus, Mazloum Abdi said the SDF has completed a merger with the Syrian army and would cease to operate as an independent force. The Kurdish-led force lost most of its territory in northeast Syria to a government offensive in January and then signed the deal to merge with the army. The SDF was once the main partner of the United States in Syria as it battled the Islamic State group. But after the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, Washington formed close ties with the new government in Damascus led by interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Islamist insurgent group. The SDF “carried a heavy responsibility during one of the most difficult periods in Syria’s history,” Abdi said.
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