Germany says train attacker appears to have acted alone

A 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who went on a rampage on a Bavarian train with an ax and a knife appears to have acted alone, goaded on by online Islamic extremist propaganda, Germany’s top security official says Wednesday.

Five people were injured in the attack and two remain in critical condition, “and it is not yet clear if they will all survive,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere tells reporters in Berlin.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack and though German authorities have said that they have found no direct link to the extremists, an IS flag was found among the suspect’s possessions and he refers to himself as a “soldier of the Islamic State” in a video that was posted by the group.

De Maiziere says it is not yet clear when the video was made, but confirms that investigators had determined it was authentic. It shows the young man waving a knife as he talks into the camera.

“It appears to be a classic farewell video of a suicide attacker,” de Maiziere says.

— AP