The failed Afghan asylum seeker who allegedly drove his car into a crowd of people did so for religious reasons, German authorities have said.

       Authorities gave an update this morning following yesterday’s attack, which left 36 people injured.

       Senior public prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann said that after the crime, the accused said "Allahu Akbar" to the police and admitted that he had deliberately driven into the crowd.

       She said: "I would dare to speak of an Islamist motivation for the crime.”

       Tilmann added that searches of the 24-year-old Afghan security guard’s apartment had not yielded any definitive indication of his motive but that he prayed as he was arrested.

       The attacker also "gave an explanation that I would summarise as religious motivation" in a police interview, she said, although authorities were unable to expand upon what this was.

       Yesterday, a car was “deliberately" driven into the back of a trade union demonstration attended by around 1,000 people.

       Of the 36 people injured, two remain in the most serious condition, one of whom is a child.

       Another eight people are in hospital with serious injuries, authorities confirmed.

       German authorities say that the man entered the country in 2016 as an unaccompanied minor, but contrary to media reports, he had not been asked to leave the country.

       Tilmann also clarified reports that the man was known to police, explaining that he had been investigated for employment fraud for a “very brief” period before the case was dropped.

       Police continue to investigate the circumstances of yesterday’s attack, which came on the eve of the Munich Security Conference attended by world leaders and security officials.

       The focus of the investigation now aims to establish a definitive motive and to ascertain whether or not anybody knew of the attack in advance. Police do not believe that the man was accompanied by another person on his rampage, contrary to some eyewitness reports from the scene.

       Searches of the man’s phone and electronic devices have yet to yield much evidence, although Tilmann confirmed that the fitness enthusiast was a regular user of Snapchat and Instagram and posted a message on the latter saying “Allah protect us all”.

       Tilmann warned against the temptation to jump to conclusions as investigations continue but confirmed that authorities “presume that this was an Islamic attack.”