Islamic State group claims responsibility for knife attack in Germany's Solingen

The Islamic State (IS) group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the knife attack in the western German city of Solingen, according to an AP report.

The IS claim couldn't immediately be verified, as it provided no evidence for its assertions.

Three people have been killed and eight wounded in the attack on Friday evening at an event marking the 650th anniversary of the city's founding.

The militant group said in a statement on its Telegram account that the attack was carried out by one of its members "in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere."

A 26-year-old man turned himself in to the German police on Saturday evening, claiming to be responsible for a deadly knife attack on Friday in the western German city of Solingen, the newspaper Bild said.

According to Bild, the suspect contacted the police himself and claimed to be the one being hunted. The newspaper said the suspect is Syrian and moved to Germany in 2022.

Two other suspects had been detained by police earlier on Saturday, including a 15-year-old teenager and a second individual, following a police operation at a home for refugees in Solingen. 

Markus Caspers, senior public prosecutor from the counterterrorism section of the public prosecutor's office, said at a news conference on Saturday that authorities could not yet speak on the attacker's motivation.

"So far, we have not been able to identify a motive, but looking at the overall circumstances, we cannot rule out" the possibility of terrorism, Caspers said, though he did not offer further details.

Two men aged 67 and 56 and a 56-year-old woman died in the attack, authorities said. Police said the attacker appeared to have deliberately aimed for his victims' throats, according to an AP report. 

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited the city Saturday evening and said the government would do everything possible to support the people of Solingen, the report said.

"We will not allow that such an awful attack divides our society," she said, appearing alongside state Minister-President Hendrik Wüst and Reul.

Wüst described the attack as "an act of terror against the security and freedom of this country." But Faeser, the country's top security official, had not classified it as a "terror attack."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the perpetrator must be punished with the full force of the law.

"The attack in Solingen is a terrible event that has shocked me greatly. An attacker has brutally killed several people. I have just spoken to Solingen's mayor, Tim Kurzbach. We mourn the victims and stand by their families," Scholz said Saturday on the social media platform X.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also spoke to the mayor Saturday morning.

"The heinous act in Solingen shocks me and our country. We mourn those killed and worry about those injured, and I wish them strength and a speedy recovery from all my heart," Steinmeier said in a statement.

(With input from agencies)