German Train Attack: Afghan Refugee ’Had Daesh Flag in Room’

Local Editor

A hand-painted flag of Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] has been found in the room of an Afghan refugee accused of carrying out an axe and knife attack on a southern German train, officials said.

According to German police, three of the victims were severely injured in the Monday night incident, which happened in the Heidingsfeld region of the city of Wurzburg.

At least 20 injuries were initially reported in the attack, but later it was announced that some 14 people were treated for trauma on the scene.

A few hours after the incident, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann announced that suspect was a 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who had taken up residence in the nearby town of Ochsenfurt.

Herrmann noted that the authorities are currently investigating reports that the attacker yelled out "an exclamation" before the incident.

The attack comes days after a deadly Daesh-claimed attack in Nice in France.

The teenager, who had claimed asylum after travelling to Germany as an unaccompanied minor, had been living with a foster family after moving from a refugee centre in the town.

Last year Germany registered more than one million migrants, including more than 150,000 Afghans, although the number has slowed dramatically this year since new EU measures were taken to stop the flow.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team