IS claims attack on US university

Banned militant outfit the Islamic State (IS) said the attacker who injured 11 people on Ohio State University (OSU) campus was a "soldier of the Islamic State", media reports said.

The attacker carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of international coalition countries, the self-fashioned caliphate said in an online message.

The group recently released a video on Tuesday calling on attacks on the West and demonstrated how to kill people with knives, Xinhua news agency reported.

It is unclear if the group had any ties with the attacker, identified by local police as Abdul Artan, an 18-year-old OSU student who moved to the United States from Somalia.

Artan was shot and killed by police shortly after he drove a car into pedestrians and started attacking people with a butcher knife on Monday.

The IS, which operates mainly in Syria and Iraq, is considered a terrorist group by the US government. It is known to claim responsibilities to violent attacks as a propaganda method to forward its ideology, exert influence, and attract potential followers.

--IANS

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