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17 Year Old Afghan Refugee Attacks Passengers in German Train





A teenage Afghan refugee armed with an axe and knife injured four people on a train in southern Germany before being shot dead by police, officials say.

Three people were seriously hurt and one suffered minor injuries in the attack in Wurzburg, police said. Another 14 were treated for shock.

Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said the attacker was killed as he tried to flee the scene.

The motive for the attack is not yet clear.

"The attacker appears to have been a 17-year-old Afghan who has been living in Ochsenfurt for some time," Herrmann said. "He suddenly attacked passengers with a knife and an axe, critically injuring several. Some of them may now be fighting for their lives."

The attack comes just days after a Tunisian delivery man ploughed a 19-tonne truck into crowds of Bastille Day revellers in the southern French city of Nice, killing 84.

It is likely to deepen worries about so-called "lone wolf" attacks in Europe and could put political pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who welcomed hundreds of thousands of migrants to Germany over the past year.

The incident happened at about 21:15 (19:15 GMT) on the train which runs between Treuchlingen and Wurzburg.

"There are witnesses that suggest there may be an Islamic background to this but that is far from clear at this point," Herrmann said.

Unlike neighbours France and Belgium, Germany has not been the victim of a major attack by Islamic militants in recent years, although security officials say they have thwarted a large number of plots.


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