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A police dog has been killed by a man with an axe as police attempted to disarm him as he reportedly screamed 'Allahu Akbar'.

The axeman was shot to the floor and was rushed to hospital in a critical condition with wounds to his stomach and legs, following the altercation in Schiedam, Holland.

Police had been called to a disturbance at a house, where the 26-year-old Syrian man lived with his father.

Despite negotiators trying to calm him down, and his father speaking to him over the phone, officers were unable to resolve the issue.

Armed officers and the police dog stormed the home and attempted to Taser him.

The man is reported to have lashed out and hit the canine with the axe.

The injured dog later died of his wounds.

The officers then shot the man to the floor, from where he was quickly scooped up and taken to hospital by ambulance.

According to Dutch news website Nederlandse Omroep Stichting the man underwent emergency surgery and is now in a stable condition.

A spokeswoman for the police said that the man's background is being checked.

She said: "We are now going to look into our system what we know about this man."

The municipality of Schiedam said that the man was known to various aid agencies.

Mayor Cor Lamers added: "However, this is an escalation that we have not seen coming in."