MOSCOW – Daesh on Saturday claimed responsibility after a man stabbed seven people on the street in a remote far northern 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 militants 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.
