German prosecutors: train attacker had extremist motive

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors say they now believe that the suspect in a knife attack on a train in November that left four people wounded had an Islamic extremist motive. The attack took place on an ICE high-speed train traveling from Passau, on the Austrian border, to Hamburg on Nov. 6. Authorities said that the man attacked his victims apparently at random and showed signs of mental illness, but initially said there was no immediate indication of a terror motive. Munich prosecutors said Monday that investigations have produced “weighty indications” that the suspect’s actions were based on support for the Islamic State group’s ideology, though there was no evidence so far that he was involved with or “steered” by the group.