Finland stabbings: Police treating knife rampage in city of Turku as terrorist attack

Police in Finland have said they are treating stabbings in the city of Turku as a terrorist attack.

Two people were killed and six others were injured after a terrorist went on a knife rampage in the south-western city on Friday afternoon.

Police said the attacker, who was shot in the leg and taken into custody following the stabbings, was an 18-year-old Morrocan.

Officers raided a flat and made a number of arrests on Friday night.

Eyewitnesses described seeing a suspect brandishing a knife and hearing a woman scream during the attack on Friday.

It comes after 14 people were killed after terrorists mowed down pedestrians on Barcelona's Las Ramblas and the seaside town of Cambrils in two separate attacks on Thursday.

"Due to information received during the night, the Turku stabbings are now being investigated as murders with terrorist intent," the National Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

Following the attacks on Friday, police shot the suspected attacker in the leg and arrested him.

Laura Laine, who said she was about 20 metres away when the stabbing took place, told YLE: “We heard that a young woman was screaming. We saw a man on the square and a knife glittered."

Another witness, Jesse Brown, told the BBC: "I saw police shoot a person, a man I think. People were running and there was talk about a knife attack, possibly multiple perpetrators."

Police added they know the identity of the Morrocan held, but have not yet released it.