A state government in Germany has said that a suspect believed to have carried out a knife attack in Solingen is now in custody.

Friday's attack killed three people and wounded eight others at a festival celebrating the 650 anniversary of the founding of the city.

Police have detained another two people likely connected to the attack.

Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Reul told a public broadcaster's program late Saturday that "The person we have been looking for all day has just been taken into custody."

Major German media outlets including Der Spiegel reported that the suspected attacker is a 26-year-old man from Syria and that he turned himself in to police late Saturday night.

The Amaq news agency which is linked to the Islamic State militant group has reported on Saturday that a soldier of the Islamic State carried out the operation in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.

Whether the three suspects in custody are linked to the Islamic State militant group is not yet clear.