Europe gripped by terror

Teen attacker goes on rampage on German train

Afghan refugee goes after passengers with axe and knife in attack claimed by ISIS

A pavement near Wuerzburg yesterday after Monday's train attack. The Afghan teen, wielding an axe and knife, seriously injured four Hong Kong tourists. Other passengers suffered minor injuries.
A pavement near Wuerzburg yesterday after Monday's train attack. The Afghan teen, wielding an axe and knife, seriously injured four Hong Kong tourists. Other passengers suffered minor injuries. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
Teenager "Mohammed Riyad", with knife in hand, presented himself as a "soldier of the caliphate".
Teenager "Mohammed Riyad", with knife in hand, presented himself as a "soldier of the caliphate".

BERLIN • A 17-year-old Afghan refugee who attacked passengers on a train in Germany with an axe and knife, seriously wounding four tourists from Hong Kong, was one of the fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to a video released by the terror group yesterday.

The video released by the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency, subtitled in Arabic, shows teenager "Mohammed Riyad" - knife in hand - announcing in Pashto he would carry out an "operation" in Germany, and presenting himself as a "soldier of the caliphate".

In the two-minute, 20-second video, entitled, Germany - Video Of the Islamic State Soldier Muhammad Riyad Who Carried Out the Wuerzburg Attack, the young man says he will slaughter infidels and avenge the deaths of men, women and children in Muslim countries.

He urged others to commit attacks in their own countries if they could not travel to join ISIS in Syria.

It was not immediately possible to verify whether the man in the video was the train attacker. But authorities said a hand-painted flag of ISIS had been found among the assailant's belongings.

The attack happened on Monday night on the train that runs between Treuchlingen and Wuerzburg in Bavaria.

Mr Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria state, said the assailant arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Germany several months ago and had lived at first in a shelter and then more recently with a foster family.

A ministry spokesman said that the assailant had shouted "Allahu akbar (God is greatest)" during the attack.

Other than the four Hong Kong tourists, who are from one family, the terrorist injured several others on the regional train near the southern city of Wuerzburg before attempting to escape from the scene.

An eyewitness who lives next to the railway station told DPA news agency that the train, which had been carrying around 25 people, looked "like a slaughterhouse". He said he saw people crawl from the carriage and ask for a first-aid kit as other victims lay on the floor inside.

"The perpetrator was able to leave the train, police left in pursuit and as part of this pursuit, they shot the attacker and killed him," a police spokesman said.

Mr Herrmann later said the teenager was shot when he attacked the police while trying to escape the scene.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 20, 2016, with the headline Teen attacker goes on rampage on German train. Subscribe