A man armed with a knife stabbed and wounded several people including a rabbi at a synagogue in Moscow today, police officials and witnesses said, while a Jewish leader called it an anti-Semitic attack.
One Jewish official said the man, who witnesses said had a shaved head and wore a leather jacket, called out as he burst into the building "I will kill people, I will kill Jews."
The attack at the Chabad Bronnaya synagogue occurred around 5.30pm (local time).
Chief Moscow prosecutor Anatoly Zuyev told reporters that eight people were wounded, including a US citizen, an Israeli and a Tajik citizen; he did not give further information about the foreigners.
"The attacker was shouting words that showed he was motivated by ethnic and religious hatred," Zuyev said.
He said the alleged attacker was in custody and has been identified as Alexander Koptsev, a Moscow resident born in 1985.
He said it was not immediately clear whether the suspect was a member of any anti-Semitic or neo-Nazi groups.
AP