3rd LD: Suspect killed in explosion in southern Germany

German police said the person who was killed in an explosion in the southern German town of Ansbach late Sunday was the one who set off the blast.

The explosion also injured at least 12 others, three of them seriously.

"An explosion device went off in the city center and a man, which the latest enquiries show caused it, was killed in the event," police said in a statement.

The explosion was intentionally carried out by a 27-year-old Syrian refugee, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said at a press conference.

"We do not know at the moment whether the offender purely wanted to commit suicide or whether his intention was to take other people into death," he said.

The attacker, who was living in Ansbach, had tried twice to commit suicide, Herrmann said.

The explosion happened at around 22:10 Sunday local time at the entrance area of a music festival, prompting the evacuation of about 2,500 people attending the concert.

The blast in downtown Ansbach was caused by an explosive device, local media Nordbayern reported, citing mayor Carda Seidel as saying.

It took place at around 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), close to the scene of an open-air music festival where about 2,500 people gathered, German media reported.

Witnesses said several helicopters are hovering over the city near Nuernberg.

The police have blocked off the center area of Ansbach. It remains unknown if the blast was a terrorist attack. Endi