BERLIN: German authorities cast doubt on Wednesday on whether a teenager who went on an axe rampage on a Bavarian train was really an Afghan refugee, saying he might have been from Pakistan.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the teenager was believed to be a “lone wolf” attacker who appeared to have been “inspired” by the militant Islamic State (IS) group but was not a member of the jihadist network.

“This is perhaps a case that lies somewhere between a crazed rampage and terrorism,” de Maiziere told reporters.

He said investigators were still trying to determine the true identity of the 17-year-old who was shot dead by police following the train attack in which he injured five people.

IS released a video on Tuesday purportedly featuring the assailant announcing in Pashto he would carry out an “operation” in Germany, and presenting himself as a “soldier of the caliphate”.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2016