A driver who rammed a car into a crowded Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, killing at least five people and injuring more than 200, has been identified by authorities as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen who had lived in Germany for more than a decade and worked as a doctor.

A Saudi doctor drove into a market teeming with holiday shoppers in Magdeburg, an official said, as people mourned the victims and their shaken sense of security. Some 200 people were injured.

A driver rammed a car into a crowd of shoppers at a busy German Christmas market on Friday evening, killing at least five people and injuring 200.An extensive police operation is underway following the attack at the market in the German city of Magdeburg that happened at around 7pm local time on Friday.