GETTY / REUTERS Turku attack: One person has died in the attack in the Finnish city

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Two people were killed and eight more wounded when a Moroccan immigrant went on the rampage in what is now being treated as a terrorist act. The 18-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene after being shot in the leg by officers. He is understood to have only been in Finland for a short time before the attack and was part of the asylum process. Four more Moroccans were arrested in overnight raids over possible links to the suspect.

Local media said police raided an apartment in the eastern Turku suburb of Varissuo, which is home to a large immigrant population and located about four miles from the market square where the attack took place. A spokesman for the National Bureau of Investigation said: "Due to information received during the night, the Turku stabbings are now being investigated as murders with terrorist intent.” Police said the two people killed by the knifeman were both Finns. A British man, an Italian and two Swedish citizens were among those injured.

GETTY Turku attack: A victim of the Finland stabbing being treated

Officers said the knifeman appeared to be targeting women as he rampaged through he streets on his crazed stabbing spree. The attacks have rocked Finland where violent crime is relatively rare and which has been named as the world's safest place to visit by the World Economic Forum. Security has been stepped up across the country with increased patrols and more surveillance in case more people were involved. Doctors said four of the wounded remained in hospital - three in intensive care - while the others expect to be discharged today.

Finland knife attack: Latest pictures from the scene Fri, August 18, 2017 Several people were stabbed in the southwestern Finnish city of Turku, police said after shooting and arresting a suspect Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 14 Rescue personnel have covered a stabbing victim on the Turku Market Square, in Turku

Flags are at half mast across the Nordic country whose Security Intelligence Service (SIS) raised the terrorism threat level in June to 'elevated' from 'low', saying it had become aware of terrorism-related plans in Finland. Leaders of Turku's Iraqi and Syrian community condemned the attacks and said they would hold a rally of solidarity in the city's main square. An anti-immigration group is planning a demonstration in Helsinki.

REUTERS Turku attack: At least two people have died in a Finland stabbing

The SIS said anti-immigration groups were on the rise in the country after it received about 32,500 asylum seekers during the migration crisis in 2015. Interior Minister Paula Risikko said "Terrorists want to pit people against each other. “We will not let this happen. Finnish society will not be defeated by fear or hatred.”

GETTY Turku attack: A heavily armed police officer at the scene of the Finland stabbing spree

Witnesses have described how they saw the attacker run from Market Square to Puutori, another square in the town. One said: “People ran and yelled and it was a terrible scene. It was not clear who was chasing and who was running away.”

TWITTER Turku attack: Police are hunting 'several possible' suspects after the Finland knife attack

The current threat level for terrorism in Finland is currently “elevated”, following the Barcelona attack. This is the third-highest threat level out of the four available. The government has grown more concerned about attacks, partly after an Uzbek man killed four people in neighbouring Sweden in April by driving a hijacked truck into crowd in central Stockholm. The UK foreign office advises on its website: “Terrorist attacks in Finland can’t be ruled out. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners.

REUTERS Turku attack: A Finnish police officer at the scene of the knife rampage

“There is a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals, from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria. "You should be vigilant at this time.” Officers also rushed to a shopping centre in the nearby town of Raiso after reports of another incident. This situation was quickly declared safe.

REUTERS Turku attack: Police at the city's main station as officials hunt the perpetrators

TWITTER Turku terror: At least one person has died after a knife attack in Finland

GOOGLE MAPS The knife attack occurred in the Finnish city of Turku