A follower of Daesh was responsible for a stabbing attack on two youths in the German city of Hamburg two weeks ago, the militant group’s Amaq news agency said on Sunday.
In the incident, the unknown perpetrator attacked a young couple sitting under a bridge at the Alster river in downtown Hamburg. He stabbed the 16-year-old man repeatedly from behind and kicked his 15-year-old female companion into the river.
The stabbing victim died of his injuries shortly afterwards in hospital while the young woman managed to escape.
“A soldier of the Daesh stabbed two individuals in Hamburg city on the 16th of this month,” Amaq said. “He carried out the operation in response to calls to target the citizens of coalition countries.”
A police spokeswoman in Hamburg declined to comment on Daesh’s claim and only referred to an earlier statement the police issued shortly after the attack.
According to that statement, the attacker was of “southern appearance”, aged between 23 and 25 years and had a designer stubble.
The background of the act is unknown and the subject of investigation, police said back then.
A spokesman for the Federal Public Prosecutor said on Sunday investigators were checking the claim by Daesh. “We are looking into this and are evaluating the credibility of the content,” the spokesman said. He noted that it appeared a bit unusual that the claim was published two weeks after the attack. “This differs somewhat from the pattern,” he said.
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is responsible for investigating crimes concerning national security, will decide in coming days if it has grounds to take over from local authorities, he added.
Experts say it is not clear how close the connection is between groups and individuals proclaiming allegiance to the Daesh militant group.
The terrorist organisation is increasingly under pressure from regional and international forces in its Middle East heartland of Syria and Iraq.