Merkel faces backlash over Berlin attack

German chancellor Angela Merkel has called Monday's crash at a busy Berlin Christmas market a "terrorist attack", but she faces criticism from political rivals who are blaming her welcoming refugee policy for the incident.

In her first comments after the attack, in which 12 people died and dozens were wounded, Merkel said she was "shocked, shaken and deeply saddened".

But she warned that Germany should not be paralysed by fear.