The White House said US President Barack Obama spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel to offer condolences over Monday’s fatal attack on a Christmas market in Berlin.

“The President reiterated the US offer of assistance and underscored that no attack could sway our determination — and that of our German allies — to defeat terrorism in all of its forms,” the White House said in a statement on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 12 perons were killed and nearly 50 others injured when a truck drove into a popular Christmas market filled with tourists and locals in Berlin late Monday.