Isil claim attacker as one of its 'fighters'

Four people injured in axe attack

Police shot dead attacker

Attacker is 17-year-old Afghan refugee

Islamic State has claimed an Afghan teenager who attacked passengers on a train in Germany with an axe on Monday night as one of its 'fighters'.

Earlier on Tuesday, the interior minister said a hand-drawn Isil flag was found in the room of the 17-year-old, whose attack left three seriously injured.

Police shot dead the suspect as he attempted to flee the scene. The assault in Wurzburg was the latest suspected terror attack to shock Europe following the atrocity in Nice last Thursday.

Isil's online Amaq news agency released a statement claiming the attack.

"The perpetrator of the stabbing attack in Germany was one of the fighters of the Islamic State and carried out the operation in answer to the calls to target the countries of the coalition fighting the Islamic State," the statement said.

"It is quite probable that this was an Islamist attack," said a ministry spokesman on Monday, adding that the attacker had apparently shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) as he stabbed people.

The attacker was said to have been carrying "weapons for slashing and cutting”, according to German media reports, including an axe.

Three people were "seriously injured," 14 people were left in shock, and one other person suffered minor injuries. Among those injured were four member of a Hong Kong family.

"The perpetrator was able to leave the train, police left in pursuit and as part of this pursuit, they shot the attacker and killed him," said a spokesman for the Wurzburg police.