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Three people have been hurt after a heavily armed man opened fire on a train in northern France, before being overpowered by two American passengers.



The incident happened on the high-speed Thalys service near Arras, and the attacker was arrested at Arras station.

The interior minister praised the Americans, one of whom was seriously injured, as was another passenger.

The man arrested was a 26-year-old Moroccan. Anti-terrorist officers have taken over the case.

The weapons were said to include a Kalashnikov, a knife, an automatic pistol and cartridges.

One of the two people seriously hurt had a gunshot wound, the other a knife wound.

France's interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised the action of American passengers who prevented what he called a "terrible drama"

The suspect was arrested at Arras station

French media said the arrested man was known to the intelligence services. The suspect has so far refused to talk to police in Arras.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the incident was a "terrorist attack".

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve travelled to Arras in the wake of the attack.

He said: "As always where an act that could be terrorist in nature is involved, the greatest care and the greatest precision will be used."

He praised the Americans who overpowered the suspect.

Mr Cazeneuve said they were "particularly courageous and showed great bravery in very difficult circumstances", adding: "Without their composure we could have been confronted with a terrible incident."

French media said the passengers who overpowered the suspect were US Marines who had heard the man loading a weapon in a toilet cubicle and confronted him when he came out.

Mr Cazeneuve said the attack had taken place at 17:45 local time (15:45 GMT).

Mr Cazeneuve said he had also met French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who was lightly wounded when breaking glass to sound the alarm, and other passengers.

"My thoughts are with the wounded and with the passengers who are in a state of shock," Mr Cazeneuve said.

Initial reports suggested the second person seriously hurt was a Briton, but the UK Foreign Office later said there were no reports that British nationals were hurt.

Images shared on social media appeared to show a man being restrained on the station platform in Arras.

One photograph showed an injured man in a blue top and jeans lying on the floor of the train.

French rail firm SNCF said there had been 554 people on board the train.

French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade cut his hand smashing the alarm glass

"The situation is under control, the travellers are safe. The train stopped and the emergency services are on site," the Thalys official Twitter account tweeted.

Thalys said several trains had been delayed in the wake of the attack.

France has been on edge since the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris in January, which left 17 people dead.

And in June a man said to be inspired by the Islamic State group beheaded his boss and tried to blow up a gas plant in southern France.

Long Run wrote:Yes, well done. The initial stories had the incorrect service listed (as Marines) -- one is in the US Air Force and the other is in the Oregon National Guard.

A heavily armed man who was overpowered on a train in France is thought to be known to the intelligence services, officials say.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the gunman is believed to be a 26-year-old Moroccan with links to the "radical Islamist movement".

He was restrained by passengers, including three Americans, two of whom are members of the armed forces.

They have been praised by the French and American presidents.

Mr Cazeneuve stressed that the identity of the suspect had not been "established with certainty".

But he said that the man, who is being questioned near Paris, had identified himself as someone who was flagged up to French authorities by their Spanish counterparts in February 2014.

French and Spanish media identified him as Ayoub El-Kahzzani. He is reported to have lived in France, Spain, and Belgium and to have travelled to Syria.

rubato wrote:...Anyhow it is a great story and really typifies Americans as people who don't wait for someone else to do things for us. We're self-directed, not so good at taking orders.

Spencer Stone, hailed as a hero after a French train terror attack, has been stabbed in Sacramento, California.

He was attacked while defending a friend, and is currently in a stable condition at a local hospital, an Air Force official told the BBC.

Police say the stabbing took place on a Sacramento street corner in the early hours after an argument escalated.

Sacramento Police Officer Traci Trapani says no arrests have been made and they do not yet have a description.

She told BBC News that police are currently attempting to interview witnesses and review surveillance footage.

They hope to release more information later today.