Thread: American military personnel attacked on train

2 American military personnel attacked on Paris-bound train

Published August 21, 2015 FoxNews.com

DEVELOPING: Three people, including two American military personnel, were injured Friday when at least one person armed with an AK-47 and knife opened fire on a train that originated in Amsterdam and headed to Paris.

The gunman was overpowered by off-duty U.S. soldiers when the train stopped in the French city of Arras, La Voix du Nord reported.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/21...s-bound-train/

France train shooting: Three hurt and man arrested

• 5 minutes ago
• From the section Europe

The assailant was arrested at Arras station

An armed man has injured three people on a train between Amsterdam and Paris before being overpowered by passengers, French rail company SNCF says.

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

Two of the victims, said to be an American and a Briton, were seriously injured - one had a gunshot wound, the other a knife wound, reports said.

The reports said the man arrested was of North African origin.
One of his weapons was said to be a Kalashnikov.

Police stand near gun cartridges and a backpack at Arras station

Le Monde said the man also had an automatic pistol and had so far refused to talk to police in Arras.

The two passengers who restrained the man were believed to be American.

French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade was also lightly wounded when breaking glass to sound the alarm.

The attack took place at about 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT).
Images shared on social media appeared to show a man being restrained on the station platform in Arras.

"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.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was heading to Arras in the wake of the attack, his ministry said.

Interior ministry spokesman Pierre Henry Brandet added: "Talking about a terrorist motive would be premature at the moment."

However, anti-terrorist officers have now taken over the investigation, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34023361

Officials: Islamist militant injures 3 on train in France

By Ralph Ellis and Pierre Meilhan, CNN
Updated 5:29 PM ET, Fri August 21, 2015

(CNN)[Breaking news update, posted at 5:08 p.m. ET]

An attack that injured three people on a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris is believed to be an Islamist terrorist attack, a senior European counterterrorism official told CNN.

The gunman, a Moroccan national, was on the radar screen of European counterterrorism agencies for his radical jihadist views, the official said.

A second security source told CNN the gunman was known by French intelligence. The official said it appeared the gunman was sympathetic to ISIS, but a full determination on his specific loyalties had yet to be reached.

[Previous story, posted at 4:43 p.m. ET]
A man armed with an automatic firearm and a bladed weapon injured three people Friday on a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Friday.

The suspect was arrested, but his identity and motive are not known yet, Cazeneuve said during a press conference at the train station in Arras, a city about 115 miles (185 kilometers) north of Paris where the train was rerouted.

Calling the attack "an attack of barbaric violence," Cazeneuve said the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office in Paris will investigate to determine whether this was an act of terrorism.

Cazeneuve said two Americans helped "neutralize" the attacker. He expressed "gratitude and admiration" for their help.

Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries but their lives are not in danger, said Anthony Blondeau, spokesman for the city of Arras.

One of them was an American, Cazeneuve said. It's not known whether he or she helped subdue the suspect.

The third person injured was French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who has a light hand injury, Blondeau said.

Christophe Piednoel, spokesman from the French railway company SNCF, said the suspect carried an automatic weapon and a bladed weapon.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/21/europe...ing/index.html

Official: 2 US Marines stop Islamist attacker on train in France

CNN

- ‎33 minutes ago‎

(CNN) A massacre on a high-speed train in France was prevented Friday when two U.S. Marines in civilian clothing surprised an Islamist militant who was loading his automatic Kalashnikov rifle, a senior European counterterrorism official told CNN.