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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Ax Attack on German Train ISIS Claims Responsibility for Ax Attack on German Train
(about 4 hours later)
WÜRZBURG, Germany — The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday after a 17-year-old Afghan who came to Germany as a migrant attacked passengers on a regional train with an ax before he was killed by the police, a development that is likely to intensify fears that the huge influx of migrants poses a security threat. WÜRZBURG, Germany — The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a rampage by a 17-year-old Afghan migrant who attacked passengers on a regional train in southern Germany with an ax, and then seriously injured a woman who was walking her dog, before he was killed by the police.
The announcement, in a bulletin issued in Arabic and English via its Amaq News Agency, came after German authorities said that investigators had found a hand-drawn flag of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in the room of the Afghan teenager, along with notes in Pashto indicating that he might have been self-radicalized. The train attack, around 9 p.m. Monday near Würzburg in Bavaria, wounded four visitors from Hong Kong, two of them critically. The woman walking her dog was hospitalized with serious injuries.
The attack intensified fears in Germany that the huge influx of migrants and refugees could pose a security threat.
“The brutality and unrestrained readiness to use violence that is reflected by this act has shocked me deeply,” said Horst Seehofer, the governor of the southern state of Bavaria and an ally but occasional critic of Chancellor Angela Merkel, at a cabinet meeting. Justice Minister Heiko Maas called on Germans “to fight radicalism, regardless of where it comes from.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the Islamic State released a video with Arabic subtitles of a young man, who appeared to be the one who carried out the attack, reciting a jihadist manifesto.
In the video, the young man said in Pashto, one of the major languages of Afghanistan, “I will do a martyrdom operation in Germany today,” and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. He said that Islamic State fighters had settled in “infidel” countries and vowed: “God willing, you will be targeted in your villages, in your cities, in your airports, in your streets. The Islamic caliphate is strong enough to target you everywhere, even in your Parliament.” He also urged Muslims to “wake up and support the caliphate,” and to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Erik Ohlenschlager, the chief prosecutor in Bamberg, said at a news conference in Würzburg that the authorities were examining the video to determine if the young man in the video was the teenager who carried out the attack.
Hours earlier, in a bulletin issued in Arabic and English via its Amaq News Agency, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the ax attack. It called the Afghan teenager an “Islamic State soldier,” using language similar to its claim of responsibility for the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, that killed 84 people on Thursday.
The statement added that he had acted in response to the Islamic State’s call to target members of the American-led coalition that is fighting the group in Iraq and Syria.
The German authorities said that investigators had found a hand-drawn flag of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in the room of the Afghan teenager, along with notes in Pashto indicating that he might have been self-radicalized.
Approximately 1.5 million migrants have applied for asylum in Germany in the past 18 months, but the enthusiastic welcome they initially received has given way to one of increasing concern as the euphoria of generosity is overshadowed by the difficult reality of integration.Approximately 1.5 million migrants have applied for asylum in Germany in the past 18 months, but the enthusiastic welcome they initially received has given way to one of increasing concern as the euphoria of generosity is overshadowed by the difficult reality of integration.
Although the flow has slowed, Chancellor Angela Merkel has been under increasing pressure, especially after North African migrants were linked to hundreds of sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve. Although the flow has slowed, Ms. Merkel has been under increasing pressure, especially after North African migrants were linked to hundreds of sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
In a statement that used language similar to an announcement after an attack on Thursday in Nice, France, the Amaq News Agency said that the ax assault had been committed by an “Islamic State soldier.” The statement added that he had acted in response to a call to target coalition countries fighting the militant group. The teenager, who has not yet been identified, arrived from Afghanistan without his parents to apply for asylum last year. The authorities believed that he carried out the assault alone, but that has not been confirmed, said Joachim Herrmann, interior minister of the southern state of Bavaria, where the attack occurred.
The teenager, who has not yet been identified, arrived from Afghanistan without his parents to apply for asylum last year. The authorities believed that he carried out the assault alone, but that has not been confirmed, said Joachim Herrmann, interior minister of the southern state of Bavaria, where the attack occurred on Monday night. Whether the teenager had direct contact with operatives of the Islamic State or was simply motivated by its propaganda remained unclear.
The authorities were trying to determine what motivated the teenager to carry out the attack, which left at least four people wounded, and whether he had direct contact with operatives of the Islamic State or was simply motivated by online propaganda.
“The first emergency call to the police from a witness in the train said that he had shouted ‘Allahu akbar,’ ” Mr. Herrmann told the public broadcaster ZDF. “In searching the room where he last lived, a hand-drawn I.S. flag was found.”“The first emergency call to the police from a witness in the train said that he had shouted ‘Allahu akbar,’ ” Mr. Herrmann told the public broadcaster ZDF. “In searching the room where he last lived, a hand-drawn I.S. flag was found.”
“This must now all be put together in like a big mosaic,” he said, “to figure out what his motivation was and the extent to which he really belonged in an Islamic movement, or whether he became self-radicalized very recently.”“This must now all be put together in like a big mosaic,” he said, “to figure out what his motivation was and the extent to which he really belonged in an Islamic movement, or whether he became self-radicalized very recently.”
Alexander Gross, superintendent criminal detective of the Bavarian State Office of Criminal Investigations, said that his office was aware of the Islamic State claim but could in no way comment on its veracity. Alexander Gross, superintendent criminal detective of the Bavarian State Office of Criminal Investigations, urged the public to treat the Islamic State’s claim with caution, as many experts have also tried to do.
“Just because I.S. is claiming this attack does not mean there is anything to it,” Mr. Gross said. “Right now, we have to examine in great detail who he knew and with whom he was in contact in order to create a complete picture” of what motivated him. “Just because I.S. is claiming this attack does not mean there is anything to it,” Mr. Gross said. “Right now, we have to examine in great detail who he knew and with whom he was in contact, in order to create a complete picture” of what motivated him.
After the teenager lunged at several people, a passenger pulled the emergency brake on the train, which was traveling to Würzburg from Treuchtlingen, the federal police in Würzburg said. The train left Treuchtlingen at 7:25 p.m., with a scheduled arrival in Würzburg at 9:18 p.m. The attack occurred around 9 p.m. At 9:05 p.m., a passenger activated an emergency brake on the train, when it was in the Heidingsfeld district of Würzburg, and the police were called about 10 minutes later.
The teenager then fled the stopped car into a district of Würzburg, where he encountered police officers, including special forces. He lunged at the officers, who responded by opening fire on the young man and killing him, Mr. Herrmann said. The teenager fled the train, and attacked at a woman walking her dog along the Main River. Then he encountered police officers, including special forces, who were responding to the emergency calls. He lunged at them, and they opened fire, killing him, Mr. Herrmann said.
Four of the victims were from the same Hong Kong family, and the territory’s leader, Leung Chun-ying, condemned the attack on Tuesday. Two are in critical condition, Mr. Herrmann said. Four of the victims were visiting from Hong Kong: a father, 62, and mother, 58, their 26-year-old daughter, and her boyfriend, 30. The older couple’s 17-year-old son was unhurt.
A person in Hong Kong who had been briefed on the investigation said that the four people who had been injured were a father, 62, and mother, 58, along with their 26-year-old daughter and her boyfriend, 30. Hong Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, condemned the attack and sent officials to Germany to provide assistance to the family.
The two men sustained heavier injuries, and the couple’s 17-year-old son was unhurt. “The two men are more heavily injured, particularly in their heads and torsos,” Kenneth Tong, a senior immigration officer, said before leaving Hong Kong for Frankfurt with three colleagues and four relatives of the family. “It remains to be determined whether we’d transfer them to Hong Kong.”
Mr. Leung sent representatives from Hong Kong and its Berlin trade office to Würzburg to follow up and provide assistance. The mother and daughter are in stable condition, he said.
More than 60,000 unaccompanied minors were registered as asylum seekers in Germany last year, and more than half of the approximately 15,000 in Bavaria were from Afghanistan.More than 60,000 unaccompanied minors were registered as asylum seekers in Germany last year, and more than half of the approximately 15,000 in Bavaria were from Afghanistan.
Under German law, they cannot be extradited until they are 18 and are granted the same rights, such as access to education and financial support, as German juveniles who live on their own.Under German law, they cannot be extradited until they are 18 and are granted the same rights, such as access to education and financial support, as German juveniles who live on their own.
Many of the young refugees are in group homes, but others have been placed in foster families. Mr. Herrmann said the attacker had most recently lived with a family near Würzburg.Many of the young refugees are in group homes, but others have been placed in foster families. Mr. Herrmann said the attacker had most recently lived with a family near Würzburg.
Germany has not experienced attacks on the same scale as Belgium or France, but it remains on edge amid threats on social media by Islamist extremists and the repeated targeting of its European neighbors. Several plots have been foiled by the police.Germany has not experienced attacks on the same scale as Belgium or France, but it remains on edge amid threats on social media by Islamist extremists and the repeated targeting of its European neighbors. Several plots have been foiled by the police.
In May, a 27-year-old German killed one man and wounded three others with a knife while shouting “Allahu akbar” on a commuter train in a suburb of Munich. After questioning him, the authorities said that he had no known links to extremist groups and that they believed he was mentally disturbed. In May, a 27-year-old German killed one man and wounded three others with a knife while shouting “Allahu akbar” — “God is great” — on a commuter train in a suburb of Munich. After questioning him, the authorities said that he had no known links to extremist groups and that they believed he was mentally disturbed.
Fears that terrorists may have entered the country among the hundreds of thousands of migrants have been running high. With the attack coming days after a Tunisian man drove a truck down a street packed with pedestrians on Bastille Day in Nice, the assault Monday night could have wider political ramifications.Fears that terrorists may have entered the country among the hundreds of thousands of migrants have been running high. With the attack coming days after a Tunisian man drove a truck down a street packed with pedestrians on Bastille Day in Nice, the assault Monday night could have wider political ramifications.