New Zealand officials confirm name of Auckland knife attacker

Ahmed Aathill Mohamed Samsudeen, appearing in court in 2018 (Greg Bowker/New Zealand Herald/AP)

The New Zealand government has named 32-year-old Ahamed Samsudeen as the extremist who was shot and killed by police after he left seven people injured in a knife attack inside an Auckland supermarket.

It emerged that authorities had earlier imprisoned the man inspired by the so-called Islamic State group (IS) for three years after catching him with a hunting knife and extremist videos.