Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack in Russia that has left two people in a serious condition.

The knife attacker stabbed eight people on the street in Russia's far northern city of Surgut before being shot by police, investigators said Saturday.

Isil's Amaq news agency claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday.

The male attacker "carried out attacks on passers-by, causing stab wounds to eight" while "moving along central streets of the city" at around 11:20 am local time, said Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes.

It said that armed police then arrived and used their weapons on the attacker and "liquidated" him.

The incident took place in a city some 1,330 miles northeast of Moscow in the oil-rich Khanty-Mansi region.