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.

Emergency vehicles at a road block in Wurzburg. credit: EPA

Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria state, said the assailant had arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Germany and had lived at first in a shelter and then more recently with a foster family in nearby Ochsenfurt.

There were no further details on the circumstances of the teenager's death, and police declined to suggest what the motive was for the attack.

"At this time everything is possible," the spokesman said.

Germany is on the frontline of Europe's migrant crisis and has already suffered two attacks by suspected Islamist extremists this year.

They include a knife attack in Grafing in May, when a man allegedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" before attacking four people and killing one of them.

And in February a 15-year-old girl identified as Safia S. stabbed a policeman in the neck with a kitchen knife in what prosecutors later said was an Isil-inspired attack.

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She attacked the officer during a routine check at Hanover train station in the country's north before being overpowered by another police officer.

On New Year's Eve 2015, hundreds of sexual assaults were reported against women, with police describing the perpetrators as young men, thought to be refugees, of "Arab or North African appearance".

Europe is already on edge following last week's Nice attack, in which a truck was used to mow down Bastille Day revellers on a pedestrianised promenade, leaving 84 men, women and children dead.

The Wurzburg attack was on a train travelling from the Bavarian town of Treuchtlingen to Wurzburg, which is about 60 miles northwest of Nuremberg. The line was closed.

09:40AM Isil claim attacker as one of its "fighters"

Isil claim attacker as one of its "fighters"

The Islamic State group has said the Afghan refugee was one of its "fighters," an Isil-linked news agency said.

"The perpetrator of the stabbing attack in Germany was one of the fighters of the Islamic State," the Amaq news agency said.

07:45AM Hand-drawn Isil flag found

Hand-drawn Isil flag found

A hand-drawn Islamic State flag was found in the room of the teenager, the interior minister for the state of Bavaria said on Tuesday.

Speaking on German public television, Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said it was too early to speculate about the motives of the attacker, who had wielded an axe and a knife, and whether he was a member of an Islamist group or had become self-radicalised in recent times.

Mr Herrmann said two of those injured in the attacks were in a critical condition.

04:33AM Hong Kong family among the injured

Hong Kong family among the injured

Four of those injured are members of a family from Hong Kong, authorities in the southern Chinese city said, adding the immigration department was providing them with assistance.

The severity of their injuries remained unclear. Of those injured in the attack, 14 suffered shock, three were seriously injured and another suffered light injuries.

01:53AM Train looked 'like a slaughterhouse'

Train looked 'like a slaughterhouse'

An eyewitness who lives next to the railway station told DPA news agency that the train, which had been carrying around 25 people, looked "like a slaughterhouse" after the attack, with blood covering the floor.

The man, who declined to give his name, said he saw people crawl from the carriage and ask for a first-aid kit as other victims lay on the floor inside.

12:48AM Security concerns

Security concerns

The attack has raised questions abotu whether security should be tightened on public transport.

Alexander Kirchner, chairman of the Railway and Transport union (EDC), said security should be reviewed to ensure railway employees as well as travellers are protected.

"We have long demanded the increased use of highly trained security personnel," he said, adding there should also be more video surveillance.

12:39AM Scene of the attack

Scene of the attack

Pictures have emerged showing the blood-spattered floor at the scene of the attack.

The scene of the attack inside the train near Wurzburg. credit: EPA

12:35AM Helicopters circling overhead

Helicopters circling overhead

Witnesses say helicopters are in the skies over where that attack happened and there is a large police presence.

The main station in Wurzburg is still locked down and the line closed.

12:19AM Tension over refugees

Tension over refugees

The attack is likely to add to the tensions over the number of refugees entering Germany and Europe as a whole.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is under pressure to slow the number of arrivals of migrants after 1.1 million people entered Germany last year, fuelling fears about integration and related costs.

The numbers arriving have fallen this year, helped by a deal between the European Union and Turkey that was designed to give Turks visa-free travel to Europe in return for stemming the flow of migrants.

Supporters of an anti-immigrant group in Germany demonstrate in Cologne. credit: EPA

In May it was reported that Germany's government expects to spend around 93.6 billion euros by the end of 2020 on costs related to the refugee crisis. German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel cited a report it said it had seen from the German finance ministry, which detailed the costs for accommodating and integrating refugees as well as tackling the root causes for people fleeing from crisis-stricken regions.

Many, however, have given the refugees a warm welcome in Germany. credit: AP

Officials based their estimates on 600,000 migrants arriving this year, 400,000 next year and 300,000 in each of the following years, the report said, adding that they expected 55 percent of recognised refugees to have a job after five years.

12:03AM Suspect 'had been with foster family'

Suspect 'had been with foster family'

According to German media reports, the suspect had lived with a German foster family for two weeks having previously lived in a refugee camp.

Police said they believe he acted alone.

11:57PM 'Probable' Islamist attack

'Probable' Islamist attack

A Bavarian interior ministry spokesman has said "it is quite probable that this was an Islamist attack", adding that the attacker had apparently shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) as he stabbed people.

There were no further details on the circumstances of the teenager's death, and police declined to suggest what the motive was for the attack.

"At this time everything is possible," a police spokesman said. He is being held in a psychiatric hospital.

Germany is on the frontline of Europe's migrant crisis and has already suffered two attacks by suspected Islamist extremists this year.

Emergency services attend the scene of the attack in Wurzburg. credit:

They include a knife attack in Grafing in May, when a man allegedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" before attacking four people and killing one of them.

And in February a 15-year-old girl identified as Safia S. stabbed a policeman in the neck with a kitchen knife in what prosecutors later said was an Isil-inspired attack.

She attacked the officer during a routine check at Hanover train station in the country's north before being overpowered by another police officer.

On New Year's Eve 2015, hundreds of sexual assaults were reported against women, with police describing the perpetrators as young men, thought to be refugees, of "Arab or North African appearance".

11:36PM Attacker was a refugee

Attacker was a refugee

An axe-wielding Afghan teenager was shot dead by German police on Monday night on a regional train after injuring four passengers.

Officials said the attacker was a 17-year-old Afghan boy who was an unaccompanied refugee who had lived in nearby Ochsenfurt. They did not say whether they believed the attack was terror-related.

The assault, which took place near the city of Wurzburg in the southern state of Bavaria, sparked fears that yet another terrorist attack had struck Europe.

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, police officials said.

Emergency vehicles at a road block in Wurzburg. credit: EPA

A spokesman for police in Wurzburg said the attacker was shot and killed as he attempted to flee the scene.

"The attacker has been shot, three people have been seriously injured and one lightly injured," he said.

"A further 14 people are in shock and they are considered as being among the injured," he added.

11:20PM Attacker was '17-year-old Afghan'

Attacker was '17-year-old Afghan'

Die Welt reports that the attacker was a 17-year-old Afghan, citing Bavarian politician Joachim Herrmann.

A spokesman for the Bavarian interior ministry said the attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great).

11:13PM Location of attack

Location of attack

The train was on its way from the Bavarian town of Treuchtlingen to Wuerzburg, which is about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Nuremberg.

11:11PM 4 injured in attack

4 injured in attack

Police say four people were injured by the axe-wielding assailant before he was shot and killed by police as he fled.

Wuerzburg police said on their Facebook page that three of the victims suffered serious injuries and one was slightly injured. Another 14 people were being treated for shock.

Police said there was not yet any information on the motive behind the attack, nor details on the identity of the attacker.

10:43PM Suspect 'shot dead by police'

Suspect 'shot dead by police'

There are now multiple reports that the suspect has been shot dead by police, but authorities are yet to confirm that.

Rescue vehicles and fire engines at a road block in Wurzburg credit: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/EPA

10:37PM German police say several critically wounded in axe attack

German police say several critically wounded in axe attack

It is thought that as many as five people are in critical condition after the axe attack.

10:34PM Many injured after 'axe attack' in Wurzburg

Many injured after 'axe attack' in Wurzburg

Up to 21 people have been injured after a man reportedly armed with an axe "went on a rampage" on a train in southern Germany.

The man attacked passengers with "cutting and stabbing weapons" on a train in Heidingsfeld, near the German city of Wurzburg.

Various media reports suggest up to 21 people were injured, with four of them in a serious condition.

Reports suggested the attacker had been incapacitated, but police have not yet confirmed a report he has been shot.