IS group claims responsibility for train attack in Germany

BERLIN (AP) — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility today for an ax-and-knife attack on a German train that left at least five people wounded, but authorities said the 17-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker who was shot and killed by police as he fled the scene appears to have self-radicalized and had no direct link to the extremists.

The teenager shouted "Allahu akbar" ("God is great") as he attacked people on the regional train near the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg Monday night, and a hand-painted flag of the Islamic State was found during a search of his room, according to state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann.

Though the Islamic State group claimed responsibility through its Aamaq news agency, Herrmann said the suspect, whose identity has not been released, had written notes in his native Pashto that indicated he may have been self-radicalized and there was "no indication" he was directly connected to the IS group.

Herrmann said people close to the attacker told investigators he had seemed like a calm person, not overtly religious or an extremist.

He said investigators were still looking into the evidence found in the teenager's room, saying it could be possible that the notes included a farewell letter to his father.

"There are hints that he – in a text – writes about the lives of Muslims, but also that Muslims must take action on their own and resist now," Herrmann said.