Authorities say some of the victims were critically injured when a man attacked passengers on a train in Bavaria, but the motive for the attack is still unclear. (Reuters)

Authorities say some of the victims were critically injured when a man attacked passengers on a train in Bavaria, but the motive for the attack is still unclear. (Reuters)

A youth described as an Afghan refu­gee attacked passengers aboard a German commuter train with an ax late Monday, injuring at least five people before being killed by police, authorities said.

Four of the victims suffered serious injuries before the assailant fled the train and was confronted by police officers in the southern German province of Bavaria. The youth shouted “Allahu Akhbar” — Arabic for ‘God is great” — before he was shot, two German security officials said.

Bavarian Interior Ministry officials described the attacker as a 17-year-old Afghan citizen who had arrived in Germany as an unaccompanied refu­gee. The officials said it was not clear whether the incident was an act of terrorism.

“We currently can’t say anything about the background of the attack,” said police spokesman Björn Schmitt, adding that investigations were under way.

The assault occurred amid heightened fears in Germany about possible terrorist attacks, coming four days after 84 people were killed in an apparent jihadist-inspired attack in Nice, in the French Riviera.





Bavarian officials and local news accounts said the incident occurred after 9 p.m. local time on Monday on a commuter line that runs from Treuchtlingen to Würzburg in Bavaria. The youth hacked and slashed at some of the train’s 20 passengers, injuring at least five of them.

“It cannot be ruled out that the lives of some of those injured are in danger,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told public television broadcaster ARD.

After the passengers called for help, the train stopped at the town of Heidingsfeld, near Würzburg, where police backed by helicopters were waiting.

The security officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity in discussing details of the still-unfolding events, said the assailant charged the officers while yelling “Allahu Akhbar.”

Some local officials cautioned that whether the teen used the phrase — common in Islamist-inspired terrorist attacks — had not been confirmed.

In a Bavarian broadcast interview, Hermann said that the assailant was living outside Würzburg and appears to have acted alone.

The attack comes 11 months after a similar episode in which an Islamist extremist shot and stabbed passengers on a French train heading from Amsterdam to Paris. Four people were injured, including the assailant, a 25-year-old Moroccan citizen, who was subdued by a group of passengers that included three Americans.

1 of 8 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Photos from the aftermath of attack by ax-wielding teen on a train in Germany View Photos A 17-year-old Afghan refu­gee injured at least four people before being killed by police, authorities said. Caption A 17-year-old Afghan refugee injured at least four people before being killed by police, authorities said. July 18, 2016 Police officers stand by the regional train on which a teenager wielding an ax attacked passengers in Würzburg, Germany. Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/European Pressphoto Agency Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

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Warrick reported from Washington. Souad Mekhennet in Ankara, Turkey, and Rick Noack in Nice, France, contributed to this report.