MOSCOW (Reuters) - From seven to eight people were wounded in a knife attack in the Russian Siberian city of Surgut, local criminal investigators said on Saturday, adding that the attacker had been shot dead by police.

The militant Islamic State group, monitored in Cairo, said one of its fighters had carried out the attack, though a Russian law enforcement spokeswoman would not comment on whether police regarded the incident as terrorism related.

“A man was moving along the main streets stabbing people”, the local law enforcement committee in Surgut said in a statement on its website. No-one was killed in the attack.

The attacker, who was born in 1994, had been killed, it said. It did not identify him by name.

“The committee is investigating attempted murder”, its spokeswoman told Reuters by phone.

“The attacker responsible for the stabbing incident in Surgut in Russia is a fighter of the Islamic State”, the group said through the AMAQ news agency.

The militant Islamist group, whose fighters are hard pressed by international coalition and national forces in Syria and Iraq, regularly claims links with attacks carried out in Europe.

The perpetrators of many attacks have often been inspired by the group’s beliefs and acted alone, rather than been directed or organized by an Islamic State network on the ground.</s>Donate

ISIS claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack in the Russian city of Surgut.

Earlier today, a 19-year-old local resident with a knife attacked and injured 8 people in the center of Surgut. The attacker was alegedly carrying a moulage of suicide belt.

На поясе убитого в Сургуте человека с ножом обнаружена подозрительная сумка. #Сургут #происшествияhttps://t.co/5D1QLP8IEB pic.twitter.com/vE3VhpVSEk — Пятый канал Новости (@5tv) 19 August 2017

The attacker was eliminated while he resisted arrest. Russian security services are probing the incident that clearly looks as a terrorist attack.

UPDATE: Russian police have declared that it does not view terrorism as a primary possible motive and is currently trying to verify a claim that the attacker suffered from a mental illness.

According to recent media reports, the attacker just attempted to use the ISIS bran to attract additional attention to his actions.

It should be noted that in Russia some criminal elements have used the ISIS brand in order to draw attention to his actions and to bluff opponents.

No doubts that a threat of possible terror attacks fueled by the ISIS ideology exists in the country. Recently, such attempts are mostly made by migrant workers from Central Asia. They likely use the ISIS ideology to protest against their low social status.

There is another difference between Russian and EU cities. In Russia, locals often make attempts to implement own measures against persons that pose a threat in public places. There have been multiple cases when Russian passangers have used force in order to solve conflicts with brawlers during air travels via the Russian airlines.

However, criminals armed with fire arms are another issue.

Police detained the suspect:

Donate</s>Suspected driver on the run after 13 are killed and 100 injured as a vehicle rams a crowd in the busy Las Ramblas area.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has claimed responsibility for a deadly van-ramming attack in one of Barcelona's busiest tourist areas.

At least 13 people were killed and 100 injured after a suspect ploughed a white van into a crowd at around 5pm local time (15:00 GMT) on Thursday in the bustling Las Ramblas area, a 1.2-kilometre stretch of shops and restaurants usually heaving with tourists.

Spanish police said the suspected driver was still on the run and that they had arrested two other people in connection with the attack. Police cordons had been set up around the city.

"The executors of the Barcelona attack were soldiers of the Islamic State," ISIL's Amaq outlet said on its Telegram messenger account, without naming those it claimed were behind the attack.

Amaq said ISIL had launched the attack in response to calls to target states taking part in the United States-led coalition battling the group in Iraq and Syria.

ISIL has claimed several similar attacks in Europe over the past year.

El Pais newspaper said the driver of the vehicle had fled on foot after the attack.

It was still unclear how many attackers had been involved in the incident.

Catalan police said on Friday they had killed the perpetrators of a "terrorist attack" in the town of Cambrils, south of Barcelona, following a police operation.

Spain's public broadcaster, RTVE, reported that regional police troopers killed four people and injured another. It was not clear if the operation was connected to Thursday's van attack.

Catalan emergency services said on Twitter that people in Cambrils should "stay home, stay safe".

The Thursday van attack in the northeastern Catalan city was the country's deadliest since 2004 when al-Qaeda-inspired bombers killed 192 people in coordinated attacks on Madrid's commuter trains.

There were fears the death toll could rise given the severity of some injuries.

At least one Belgian national - a woman - was among those killed, the country's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said on Twitter.

There were at least 18 nationalities among the victims who came from countries as varied as France, Venezuela, Australia, Ireland, Peru, Algeria and China, according to Spain's civil protection agency.

Catalan police chief Josep Luis Trapero said that an explosion which killed one person and destroyed a house in the town of Alcanar, 200km south of Barcelona, on Wednesday night, was "clearly" linked to the attack.

Residents of the house were preparing explosives using gas cylinders, a Catalan police source told Reuters news agency.

However, Trapero said that so far there was no evidence that another incident, in which police shot dead a man after he tried to evade a checkpoint while leaving Barcelona hours after the attack, was connected.

People have been warned against travelling to Placa Catalunya.

Nafees Hamid, a witness, said: "There are helicopters everywhere above and armed police are rushing into the area. Police have cordoned off Las Ramblas."

He explained by phone that most people heeded a police warning to go inside while the situation was active.

Another witness said he heard a lot of people screaming, and then he saw the van going down the boulevard.

"You could see the bodies lying all through Las Ramblas. It was brutal. It was a very tough sight," he said.

Witness Aamer Anwar told Britain's Sky News television that he was walking down Las Ramblas, which he described as "jam-packed" with tourists.

"All of a sudden, I just sort of heard a crashing noise and the whole street just started to run, screaming. I saw a woman right next to me screaming for her kids."

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy rushed to the city and announced three days of mourning, calling the killings a "savage terrorist attack" and said Spaniards "are not just united in mourning, but especially in the firm determination to beat those who want to rob us of our values and our way of life".

Emergency services asked metro and train stations to close, according to reports.

The alleged attack took place at the height of the tourist season in Barcelona, which is one of Europe's top travel destinations with at least 11 million visitors a year.

Meanwhile, a second van linked to the attack was found in the small town of Vic in Catalonia, local authorities there said on Twitter.

Catalan police also said a driver earlier hit two officers in Barcelona, but it was unclear whether this incident was related to the early evening attack in Las Ramblas.

James Glancy, a defence and security consultant said that the Las Ramblas attack bears the hallmarks of ISIL-inspired attacks.

"What they are trying to do is coordinate and prolong the attack to maximise their media attention and therefore appeal to a recruitment base and improve their funding," he said.

Glancy said that if confirmed, it would be the first ISIL attack on Spanish soil.

"There is also definite coordination across Europe from different cells of ISIL," he said. "This is a planned attack, and it's had the effect that they wanted in order to get the media there and create hysteria and fear within Spain."

Diego Muro, a lecturer in International Relations at the University of St Andrews, said that although ISIL had claimed responsibility, the group may not have directly organised or masterminded the attack.

"It is also possible that the attack has [just] been inspired by [ISIL]. Both possibilities should be on the table," said Muro.

Muro said that while Spanish security forces are well respected, their resources are limited and the number of "radicalised" people is growing.

"Attacks such as these are reliant on very little technology and very little logistics," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was among those who expressed his solidarity, calling for the world to unite in an "uncompromising battle against the forces of terror", the Kremlin said.

"What happened once again confirms the need for a genuine unification of efforts by the entire world community in an uncompromising battle with the forces of terror," Putin said in a telegram of condolences to Spanish King Felipe VI, describing the incident as a "cruel and cynical crime".

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent condolences and offered US assistance to Spanish authorities.

French President Macron expressed France's solidarity after what he termed a "tragic attack".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the incident as "a revolting attack".

British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the "terrible" attack and said the UK "stands with Spain against terror".

Pope Francis said he was praying for the victims.

While full details of the incident were not immediately clear, since July 2016 vehicles have been used to ram into crowds in a series of attacks across Europe, killing more than 100 people.</s>Daesh terrorist group has allegedly claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack in the Russian city of Surgut, Reuters reported. Russian investigators are still probing the attack and have not yet ruled the terrorist nature of the incident.

Earlier in the day, a man went on a stabbing rampage in the center of the Russian city of Surgut injuring at least seven. All the victims were hospitalized with wounds of differing severity.

The assailant was eliminated while he resisted arrest. A criminal case has been initiated under the article “attempted murder.” Later, the identity of the attacker has been revealed; he’s a 23-year-old local resident. The attacker also carried a suspicious bag.</s>A knife attacker stabbed eight people on the street in Russia's far northern city of Surgut before being shot by police, investigators said Saturday.

The male attacker "carried out attacks on passers-by, causing stab wounds to eight" while "moving along central streets of the city" at around 11:20 am local time, said Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes.

It said that armed police then arrived and used their weapons on the attacker and "liquidated" him.

The incident took place in a city some 1,330 miles northeast of Moscow in the oil-rich Khanty-Mansi region.

Two of those stabbed are in a serious condition while five more are in a stable condition, the government of the Khanty-Mansi region said in a statement, calling the attacker so far "unidentified."

It called for calm over the incident, saying that "in the interests of public calm and also of the investigation, citizens and media are recommended to use reliable information in assessing the situation until all the circumstances are established."</s>The fight against IS still continues in the Middle East. — Reuters picCAIRO, Aug 19 —The Islamic State jihadist group today claimed responsibility after a man stabbed seven people on the street in a Russian city before being shot dead by police, despite investigators saying it was probably not a terrorist attack.

“The executor of the stabbing operation in the city of Surgut in Russia is a soldier of the Islamic State,” IS propaganda outlet Amaq said in a statement, after the jihadists also claimed responsibility for twin attacks in Spain that left 14 dead.

The attack also comes a day after a stabbing spree in Finland, which left two people dead and eight others injured and is being investigated as a terrorist attack, although the assailant’s motive is unknown.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said a man in Surgut had “carried out attacks on passers-by, causing stab wounds”. It said armed police called to the scene “liquidated” the attacker following the stabbing on Saturday morning.

Regional officials said seven people were taken to hospital, with the figure confirmed by investigators, who lowered an earlier toll of eight wounded.

A spokesman for regional police had earlier downplayed the possibility of a terrorist incident, telling Interfax news agency that the theory that the incident was “a terrorist (attack) is not the main one”.

The Investigative Committee said it had established the attacker’s identity, saying he was a local resident born in 1994, and that they were looking into “his possible psychiatric disorders”.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny questioned the authorities’ treatment of the incident, writing on Twitter: “Someone runs round with a knife and tries to kill as many people as possible. What is that, if not a terrorist attack?”

Investigators have opened a criminal probe into attempted murder, not terrorism, with the Investigative Committee’s chief Alexander Bastrykin taking the case under his personal control.

Regional police said officers fired warning shots at the scene before firing at the suspect, who was wearing a balaclava.

YouTube footage shown on Russia’s Ren TV television showed a black-clad man lying on a pedestrian walkway with a policeman kneeling on his back as sirens wail.

Unconfirmed reports from the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid and other media identified the attacker as 19-year-old Artur Gadzhiyev, saying that his father is known to authorities for involvement in radical religious organisations and comes from the mainly Muslim region of Dagestan in the North Caucasus.

Regional officials said four of those stabbed remained in a serious condition while another was stable in hospital. Two have already been discharged.

Russian television reported that the stabbing victims are aged between 27 and 77 and include two women.

State news agency TASS said the city’s largest shopping centre was evacuated after the stabbings, citing its director, and police posted a video of the attack site, showing it to be a busy area with traffic and blocks of flats.

The city lies some 2,100 kilometres northeast of Moscow in the oil-rich Khanty-Mansi region.

The region’s governor was flying out to the city to hold a meeting with investigators, regional authorities said.

The regional government moved to curb panic in the city, insisting the “situation is under the control of the authorities” and calling for calm.

A group suspected of links to Al-Qaeda claimed an April attack on the Saint Petersburg metro that killed 15 people and has been blamed on a Russian suicide bomber born in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. — AFP</s>Police officers stand by the body of a man who was killed after an alleged stabbing attack, in the Siberian city of Surgut, Russia, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017. A knife-wielding man went on a stabbing rampage in a Siberian city on Saturday, wounding seven people before police shot and killed him. (Irina Shvets/Siapress.ru via AP) Police officers stand by the body of a man who was killed after an alleged stabbing attack, in the Siberian city of Surgut, Russia, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017. A knife-wielding man went on a stabbing rampage in a Siberian city on Saturday, wounding seven people before police shot and killed him. (Irina Shvets/Siapress.ru via AP)

A man on Saturday stabbed seven people on the street in Russia’s far northern city of Surgut before being shot dead by the police. As per a report in Reuters, the Islamic State has claimed the responsibility for the attack. Russia’s Investigative Committee which probes major crimes in the nation said, armed police was called at the crime scene and the attacker was ‘liquidated’. The Committee said it has established the man’s identity, confirming him to be a local resident born in 1994.

According to the regional police, officers present at the scene fired warning shots before taking down the suspect who was wearing a balaclava. A statement released by the regional government said, two out of the seven injured are in critical condition. The city lies some 2,100 kilometers northeast of Moscow in the oil-rich Khanty-Mansi region.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>MOSCOW — A man wielding a knife attacked and wounded seven people on the central street in the Siberian town of Surgut on Saturday, local news reports and Russian investigators said.

The police later shot and killed the attacker, the Russian authorities said. The attack raised alarm about an expanding wave of terrorism in Europe, even as officials said there was no immediate information of the attacker’s motive.

The assault came within days of deadly attacks in Spain and Finland. Several attackers laid siege to the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Cambrils on Thursday, killing at least 14 and wounding more than 80 others in what officials called a terrorist act.

In Finland on Friday, a man stabbed two people to death and injured eight others in Turku before he was shot and apprehended. The Finnish authorities said on Saturday that they were treating the killings as a terrorist attack.

A Russian law enforcement group, the Investigative Committee, gave no immediate indication in an initial statement that the stabbings in the Siberian city, an oil industry hub in the far north, had any link to terrorism.</s>A terrorist brandishing a knife wounded seven civilians in the Russian city of Surgut. Russian police killed the terrorist before he was able to inflict more harm on innocent people.

While early reports suggested the man was mentally ill, the international Salafist terrorist group ISIS, also known as Daesh has claimed responsibility through one of their online propaganda outlets.
A 23-year-old stabs and injures eight people in the Russian city of Surgut, before being killed by police. ISIL claims responsibility for the attack.