German mayoral candidate stabbed in neck

A leading mayoral candidate has been stabbed in the neck during a campaign stop in the German city of Cologne.

Henriette Reker and an aide were both severely injured in the knife attack on Saturday morning, local officials said.

Three others who tried to overwhelm the attacker were also hurt.

Police say a 44-year-old man has been arrested.

While the attacker's motivations are not yet clear, some German media outlets say the man expressed opposition to the country's response to refugees.

Wolfgang Albers, Cologne's chief of police said: "Mrs Reker is not only a mayoral candidate, she is also responsible for the accommodation of refugees in Cologne.

"So far one focus of the investigations lies on possible political motives of the suspect. With regard to the current health condition of Ms Reker, I can inform you that she has suffered serious injuries, but her condition is stable at the moment."

Norbert Wagner, Cologne's senior police investigator said: "In his testimonies (the suspect) also says that he wanted to (attack Reker) because of anti-foreigner motives.

"According to first findings, we have determined that he apparently acted alone, which means at this stage we do not have any findings that another person was involved, or took part in this act."

Ms Reker was at an information stand for Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) party.

Even though the 58-year-old is running as an independent candidate, she has the backing of the CDU, the Greens, and the Free Democrats.

The mayoral election is due to take place on Sunday.

Her main rival, Social Democrat Jochen Ott, suspended his campaign in the wake of the attack.

The outgoing mayor Juergen Roters said he was "deeply shocked" by the incident.

(Sky News)