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ISIS have claimed responsibility for the horrific axe attack on a train in Germany.

The terror group says the 17-year-old Afghan refugee accused of the attack was one of its fighters.

The Amaq news agency, which is seen as ISIS's media agency, made the claim on Twitter.

The teen is understood to have begun shouting “Allahu Akbar” while storming the train at a station on the outskirts of Wuerzburg, in southern Germany.

Police say that 18 are injured, while the axeman severely wounded four. He was shot dead by police shortly afterwards.

Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said it was too early to speculate about the motives of the attacker, who he said was believed to have been living in a home for unaccompanied minors in Ochsenfurt, near the city of Wuerzburg.

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(Image: EPA/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand)

Speaking to German TV this morning, he revealed the hand-painted ISIS flag was found among the teenager’s belongings at his room.

The full horror of the attack is immediately apparent from images inside and around the blood-splattered carriages.

One image shows the floor of the train covered in blood. Other images show a small pool of blood on the train station platform.

The attack is likely to deepen worries about so-called “lone wolf” attacks in Europe.

It could also increase political pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who welcomed hundreds of thousands of migrants to Germany over the past year.

(Image: EPA/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand)

“The attacker appears to have been a 17-year-old Afghan who has been living in Ochsenfurt for some time,” Herrmann said.

He suddenly attacked passengers with a knife and an axe, critically injuring several. Some of them may now be fighting for their lives.”

Police spokesman Fabian Hench said four people had been severely wounded and a fourth slightly injured. Several others were treated for shock.

The attacker fled the train when it halted at a station on the outskirts of Wuerzburg.

Herrmann said the man had tried to attack police when he was confronted and had been shot dead.

German media, citing a spokesman for the Bavarian interior ministry, reported that the man had shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack, but neither Herrmann nor Hench said they could confirm that.

“There are witnesses that suggest there may be an Islamic background to this but that is far from clear at this point,” Herrmann said.