German-Russian, 70, arrested after Afghan, Iraqi, Syrian refugees stabbed

The bloody knife attack, which took place outside a church in the western city of Heilbronn last Saturday, left a 17-year old Afghan badly wounded, and an Iraqi and a Syrian man, 25 and 19, injured.

The suspect, a German-Russian dual national, was restrained by passersby until police arrived and detained him.

The alleged attacker, who was drunk at the time, was initially charged with assault and released, however prosecutors changed the charge to "politically motivated" attempted murder on Wednesday and issued a formal arrest warrant.

The police said in a statement that the man was rearrested on Wednesday and questioned further, along with the victims and witnesses.

The police added the suspect said he was angered by Germany's asylum policy which had brought more than a million refugees and migrants into the country in recent years.

Late last year, a German town mayor was injured in a knife attack for his liberal refugee policy. Altena, a town of about 17,000 people was well known for taking in a larger share of asylum seekers than required amid the mass influx.

Immigrants and their homes in Germany faced more than 3,500 attacks in 2016. The attacks led to 560 people being injured, including 43 children.