Axe attack of individual nature, says German Interior Minister

Berlin, July 20 (IANS) The axe attack on a German train was carried out by an individual who "felt goaded" by the propaganda of the Islamic State militant group (IS), said German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Wednesday.

A video, which was released by the IS on the Internet claiming responsibility for the axe attack, does not contain any evidence of an arrangement with the IS, according to de Maiziere, Xinhua news agency reported him saying.

The 17-year-old refugee Riaz Khan Ahmadzai injured five people near Wuerzburg in the southern German state of Bavaria with a knife and an axe. Most of the victims were Chinese tourists, among whom two were critically wounded.

"It is perhaps a case which lies on the border between rampage and terror," the German official said.

He condemned the act as a "brutal act of indiscriminate violence," saying further that "the background of the act must be further clarified."

Meanwhile, he also called for more video surveillance and police.

German media Spiegel Online reported that police had found a "hand-painted IS flag" in the room of the 17-year-old Afghan.

Facebook Comments
Share

This website uses cookies.

%%footer%%