German police shot dead a 17-year-old Afghan refugee after he attacked passengers on a train with an axe and a knife, seriously wounding three people.
The attacker, a 17-year-old boy, who lashed out at evening commuters, was an unaccompanied refugee from Afghanistan, the German interior minister Joachim Hermann said.
“It is quite probable that this was an Islamist attack,” said a ministry spokesman, adding that the attacker had shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest).
The attack will spark further debate and division in Germany about the large intake of refugees that have continued to make their way to the country from the troubled Middle East and northern Africa.
Mr Hermann confirmed local reports that the police had shot the boy dead when he confronted police when the train made an emergency stop at Heidingsfield as it was travelling from Treuchtlingen to Wuerzburg.
While initial reports had up to 20 people injured, police later said three people have been seriously injured, another has been slightly injured and 14 people have been treated for shock.
Only 4 injuries but 3 serious ones.
