Russia attack: Isis claims responsibility for stabbing rampage in Siberian city of Surgut

Isis has claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack in Russia that injured eight people, the group's Amaq news agency has said.

A man was shot dead by police after knifing people apparently at random in the Siberian city of Surgut on Saturday morning.

Russian authorities earlier declined to comment on whether the incident was being treated as a terrorist attack and were said to be keeping an open mind about the attacker's motive.

The state-owned RIA Novosti agency said two people were in critical condition in hospital.

"A man was running along the main streets stabbing people", the TASS news agency reported. There were initially fears of a second attacker, but police later said he was acting alone.

Detectives were treating the stabbings, which happened at about 11.20am local time, as attempted murder.

Surgut, with a population of about 320,000, is an oil- and gas-producing centre 2,100km (1,300 miles) north-east of Moscow.

The stabbings came two days after 14 people were killed in Spain by terrorists who mowed down pedestrians in Barcelona and Cambrils in a van and a car.

Isis has claimed responsibility for both vehicle rampages, which also injured more than 100 people.

Spanish authorities announced they believed the cell behind the twin attacks had been "dismantled".

Meanwhile, police in Finland said a stabbing spree that left two people dead on Friday was being treated as a terror attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the knife rampage.

It is common for Isis to claim it is behind international terror attacks, even if they have been carried out by so-called “lone wolves” with no conclusive links to the group's members in Syria and Iraq.