“Allahu Akhbar!”: Axe-Wielding Man Attacks German Rail Passengers

An ax-wielding assailant attacked passengers late Monday aboard a train in southern Germany, injuring at least four people, local news reports said.

The attack occurred on a commuter line near the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg, news accounts said. The assailant fled the train and was killed by police, the Frankfurter Allgemeine said, citing Bavarian officials.

Three of victims were said to be critically injured, the newspaper said.

Bavarian Interior Ministry officials told a Bavarian radio broadcaster that the suspect was a 17-year-old Afghan citizen. Interior Minister Joachim Hermann said the teen appeared to have acted alone, adding that it was too early to say if it was an act of terrorism.

The assault occurred amid heightened fears in Germany about possible terrorist attacks four days after 84 people were killed in an apparent jihadist-inspired attack in the French Riviera city of Nice.

Initial accounts described the attack as occurring as the train neared Wuerzburg on a commuter line that originated in the city of Treuchtlingen. The unidentified male assailant began slashing at passengers with an ax and a knife, the Frankfurt Allgemeine reported. About 20 passengers were aboard the commuter train at the time.

The attacker fled the train when it came to a stop at the town of Heidingsfeld, and was then pursued on foot by police. Two German security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man charged the officers yelling “Allahu Akhbar — Arabic for “God is great” — when he was shot.

(c) 2016 The Washington Post – Joby Warrick 

{Matzav.com}