radical Islamist who was known to security services


Train staff on board the high speed train which was the scene of a suspected Islamic extremist attack yesterday have been accused of barricading themselves in their staffroom and locking the door, leaving passengers to fend for themselves.

The Moroccan terrorist was disarmed and beaten unconscious by US servicemen and a British man after he opened fire on a Paris-bound train with a Kalashnikov.

Now, French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who was on board the Thalys train during the attack has slammed train staff who he claims locked themselves in an office away from the attacker and refused to help the trapped passengers.

But the head of Thalys, the train company that ran the train on which the attempted attack took place, denied that passengers were abandoned.

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Heroes pictured from left to right: Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler who disarmed the gunman on a train at Arras, France. The terrorist was beaten unconscious by the US servicemen and a British man after he opened fire on a Paris-bound train

The 26-year-old Moroccan national, who was known to security services, got on the train in Brussels and attempted his attack soon after crossing the French border. He was beaten unconscious by three men on board

Video footage of the aftermath has emerged, showing what appears to be the gunman lying on the floor (right) with his hands and feet tied up with t-shirts. A man (left) is seen on the ground with a head injury

Chris Norman (pictured centre) speaks with the media at the police headquarters in Arras after he helped to tackle the gunman

A police forensic officer walks along a platform next to the Thalys train which was the scene of a suspected terrorist attack yesterday

French forensic police officers wearing protective suits inspect the crime scene on bord the Thalys train following the incident

French police officers patrol Gare du Nord train station in Paris one day after the foiled terror attack on a train heading towards the city

Spencer Stone emerged from the central hospital in Lille, France, wearing bandages and a sling a day after tackling a terrorist down

Hero: Stone offered the cameras a humble wave before slipping into a black sedan with diplomatic license plates

US airman Spencer Stone is wheeled out of the station bleeding from the head, neck and hand after getting stabbed during the ambush

The actor told Paris Match: 'We heard screaming passengers in English, 'He shoots! He shoots! He has a Kalashnikov!''

The actor, who was travelling with his two children and his girlfriend, said: 'Suddenly, members of the crew ran into the hallway and their faces were pale.'

He said the staff hurried towards their own car on the train and opened it 'with a special key' before they locked themselves inside.

Mr Anglade claims he and other passengers banged on the door and shouted at staff to open up, but their cries for help were ignored.

He said: 'Nobody replied, there was radio silence. It was terrible and unbearable, it was inhumane.

'The minutes seemed like hours and protected my children with my whole body, telling them everything was fine.'

But Agnès Ogier, the director of Thalys, said: 'The controller that was in question, he found himself under fire. He felt a bullet graze him. He took with him five or six passengers. He took them into the luggage compartment, and then he pulled the alarm. '

'Mr Anglade has seen what he has seen, something very traumatising. I can only tell you what we told our agent. And the second officer walked around the train just after the shooting.

'All this happened very quickly. What I know to say is that the Thalys train staff fulfilled its mission.'

The French Interior Minister said the train attacker is suspected to be a radical Islamist.

US airman Spencer Stone, who on board the train during the attack, spotted the 26-year-old Moroccan acting suspiciously and heard him trying to load his weapon in the toilet.

He was travelling with Oregon National Guard member Alek Skarlatos, 22, who was on leave and travelling through Europe at the time after returning from a tour in Afghanistan.

With the help of their friend Anthony Sadler, from Pittsburg, California, and fellow passenger British IT consultant Chris Norman, they managed to wrestle the attacker to the ground, stopping what could have been a deadly terrorist attack.

Mr Sadler has described how the attacker pleaded with them to return his AK-47.

He said: 'He was just telling us to give back his gun. 'Give me back my gun! Give me back my gun!' But we just carried on beating him up and immobilised him and that was it.'

The men have since been commended for their bravery by President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande has tweeted that he will meet the men tomorrow to thank them.

Today, Mr Stone emerged from the central hospital in Lille, France, wearing bandages and a sling - and offered the cameras a humble wave before slipping into a black sedan with diplomatic license plates.

The US airman was stabbed in the hand during the scuffle with a Klashnikov and Stanley knife on Friday - almost severing his thumb - but was hailed a hero as he disarmed the suspect then administered first aid to others before caring for himself.

T hwarted train gunman was part of an Islamic terrorist cell which came within hours of carrying out another 'major' attack By Nick Fagge in Paris for MailOnline Thwarted train gunman Ayoub El-Qahzzani was part of an Islamic terrorist cell which came within hours of carrying out a 'major' attack in Belgium before it was shut down in a deadly fire-fight with police, according to French media reports. El-Qahzzani has been linked to a gang of Muslim fanatics in Belgium who opened fire on anti-terrorism officers when Special Forces closed in on them near the railway station in the eastern city of Verviers, in January 2015. Two terrorist suspects were killed and a third was arrested in the operation, close to the Belgian border with Germany. Now El-Qahzzani has been linked to this terrorist cell, which was made up of Islamic extremists who had returned to Europe after fighting against the Assad regime in Syria. France's La Voix du Nord newspaper reported: 'According to our sources, he [Al Qahzzani] was part of the same jihadist group which attacked on Belgian anti-terrorist police in a violent fire-fight in January 2015, in Verviers, near Liege. 'It appears that he had been identified as a potential security threat by the Spanish authorities who had alerted French authorities and had asked them for further information about him.' Thwarted train gunman Ayoub El-Qahzzani was part of an Islamic terrorist cell which came within hours of carrying out a 'major' attack in Belgium before it was shut down in a deadly fire-fight with police, according to French media (pictured: the suspect is arrested yesterday) El Qahzzani has denied being part of an terrorist organisation and claims he discovered the Kalashnikov automatic rifle 'under a bush' in a Brussels park, La Voix Du Nord reports. It states: 'According to our sources Ayoub El Qahzzani, who was transferred overnight from Arras to Paris, has explained that he found the guns and took them into the train toilet to understand how they worked, not to carry out an atrocity.' The 'Verviers group' had been planning to abduct and behead a prominent law enforcement official and post a video of his assassination on the internet, according to a report in the Belgian media at the time. Another theory was that the group planned to attack a police station and kill a large number of officers. But Belgian anti-terrorist police managed to stop them just hours before they embarked out their murderous mission. It would have come just days after Islamic terrorists killed 17 in the barbarous attacks on a kosher supermarket and the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris in January last year. Belgian Federal magistrate Eric Van Der Sypt said: 'This operation stopped a major terrorist attack from taking place. You could say a second potential Paris has been averted. 'The attack could have taken place within a matter of hours.' Belgian police carried out searches in more than 10 properties in Brussels, Verviers and Halle-Vilvoorde as part of an investigation into extremists returning from Syria. Four Kalashnikov automatic rifles, bomb-making equipment and police clothing were found in the raid. 'During the investigation we found that this group was about to commit a terrorist attack in Belgium,' a statement from the Belgian police said. 'When the search warrants were executed in Verviers the suspects immediately opened fire with automatic weapons on special police forces. 'They open fire for several minutes before being neutralised. 'Two were killed and a third person who survived has been arrested.' Advertisement

Anthony Sadler and Alex Skarlatos at the entrance of the Arras police station in northern France

Blood can be seen on one man's shirt and bag as he stands outside the police station in Arras, following the terrorist incident on a train

Anthony Sadler (right) and Alek Skarlatos have plenty to ponder after thwarting a terror attack by overpowering a gunman on the train they were travelling on

The camera then pans around to the machine gun resting on a seat surrounded by blood stains on the windows

Spencer Stone, who is part of the U.S. Air Force, spotted the 26-year-old Moroccan acting suspiciously and heard him trying to arm his weapon in the toilet of the high speed train between Amsterdam and Paris

Stone is pictured top left with his Air Force colleagues. His brave actions were applauded by French police and the White House

Meanwhile British Prime Minister David Cameron has also praised the four men for their actions.

A No 10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister praised the extraordinary courage of the passengers who intervened and helped disarm the gunman, including the British consultant Chris Norman.

'The bravery of Mr Norman and the other passengers helped to prevent a terrible incident.'

Video footage of the aftermath has emerged, showing what appears to be the gunman lying on the floor, moaning with pain, with his hands and feet tied up with t-shirts after he was beaten unconscious.

The camera then pans around to the Kalashnikov resting on a seat surrounded by blood stains on the windows.

The 26-year-old Moroccan national, who was known to security services, got on the train in Brussels and attempted his attack soon after crossing the French border.

Reuters reports the man had also been under French police surveillance after foreign security services identified him as dangerous.

French newspaper La Voix du Nord said Spanish authorities had pointed out the man to French police. It was not immediately clear whether he was still under surveillance at the time of Friday's attack.

The paper also cited security sources saying the suspected Islamist militant was seen on a plane to Turkey from Germany in May, and was thought to have visited Syria.

It added that he may have had connections to a group involved in a suspected Islamist shooting in Belgium in January.

AFP has quoted an anti-terror source saying, 'He lived in (southern) Spain in Algeciras for a year, until 2014, then he decided to move to France.

'Once in France he went to Syria, then returned to France.'

He came out of the toilet brandishing the gun and opened fire, wounding two people on board. Fortunately, the hero passengers were nearby and overpowered him.

According to witnesses he was carrying a short-stocked Kalashnikov assault rifle, at least five magazines of ammunition, a handgun and knives.

The terrorist, named in reports as Ayoub el-Qahzzani, had at least nine full magazines of ammunition holding almost 300 rounds. He was arrested by police at a train station in Arras and taken to hospital where he is now in custody.

(from left to right) Anthony Sadler, from Pittsburg, California, Aleck Sharlatos from Roseburg, Oregon, and Chris Norman, a British man living in France thwarted the attacker while on the train. They are pictured with medals they received for bravery

The suspected gunman, a 26-year-old Moroccan, was held on the platform of the station in Arras in France so police could arrive and detain him

A wounded passenger lies on the floor on the train - the man has not yet been identified

French police sealed off the train after the gunman was arrested. He was disarmed by the servicemen after he began shooting

French police recovered at least nine magazines full of ammunition from the suspect's backpack, containing almost 300 rounds

Speaking from France, Mr Sadler said: 'We heard a gunshot, and we heard glass breaking behind us, and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle. They saw a gunman entering the train car with an automatic rifle, he said.

'As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells, 'Spencer, go!' And Spencer runs down the aisle,' Sadler said. 'Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a box cutter and slices Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.'

'The gunman never said a word,' he added.

Skarlatos described Stone's heroic actions to ITV News in the aftermath of the attack.

'Spencer ran a good ten metres to get to the guy and we didn't know that his gun was not working or anything like that,' he said. 'Spencer just ran anyway and if anybody would have gotten shot it would have been Spencer for sure and we're very lucky that nobody got killed, especially Spencer.'

(The Americans were) particularly courageous and showed extreme bravery in extremely difficult circumstances

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve

He added that he was in 'good spirits' in hospital, but was still shocked by what unfolded.

Pentagon spokesman Commander William Urban confirmed one member of American military had been injured, but declined to formally identify him.

US President Barack Obama praised the 'courage and quick thinking' of the men.

'The president expressed his profound gratitude for the courage and quick thinking of several passengers, including US service members, who selflessly subdued the attacker,' a White House official said.

'While the investigation into the attack is in its early stages, it is clear that their heroic actions may have prevented a far worse tragedy.

'We will remain in close contact with French authorities as the investigation proceeds,' the official added.

It has been reported by French media a French passenger also attempted to subdue the man, who can remain in police custody for questioning for up to 96 hours.

BFMTV reports he was transferred early this morning to the headquarters of SDAT (Sub-Directorate Anti-Terrorist).

El Pais claimed the terror suspect had recently been in Syria before returning to Europe to launch his attack.

It is understood the gunman boarded the train, which had more than 550 passengers on board, in Brussels and made his move as soon as it crossed into France.

French media claim that the suspect was previously known to French security services and was living in Spain. He has already been linked to a number of radical Islamic groups. He was classed, according to FranceInfo.fr as 'potentially dangerous'.

Speaking in Arras, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised the Marines for their timely intervention.

He said: 'Thanks to them we have averted a drama.

'(The Americans were) particularly courageous and showed extreme bravery in extremely difficult circumstances.'

The man was arrested by police near the town of Arras in northern France.

Belgian journalist Marin Buxant Tweeted that the US Marines were on leave in Brussels when they spotted the man and followed him on the train. When the suspect went into the toilet, the Marines recognised the sound of a weapon being armed and decided to act immediately.

One of the gunman's victims was rushed to hospital after the train arrived in Arras, northern France, after the attempted massacre

French officials have so far refused to confirm whether the attack was a terror related incident claiming it is 'too early' in the investigation

The motives behind the attack were not immediately known, although a spokesman for the interior minister said: 'It is too early to speak of a terrorist link'.

The incident happened approximately 115 miles north of Paris near the town of Arras.

Engineer Laurent Duquesne said he followed a woman who was looking for help with her husband when he saw the carnage.

He told The Telegraph: 'I went into the compartment and saw a man with what seemed to be a bullet wound in the neck, with another man trying to staunch the bleeding. he himself was wounded in the hand, possibly with a knife. They had tied up the gunmen and he was lying face down on the floor of the compartment with his hands tied behind his back.'

The gunman was arrested after the train pulled into the station in the northern French town of Arras, the SNCF spokesman told AFP.

The French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who appeared in the 1986 cult film 'Betty Blue' starring Beatrice Dalle, was lightly injured. It is understood he cut his hand while breaking the glass on the emergency alarm.

The actor told Paris Match: 'The gunman came to us, he was determined. I thought it was the end, we were going to die, he was going to kill us all.'

He also thanked the men who bravely tackled the assailant.

He added: 'I want to pay tribute to their heroic courage and thank them, without them we'd all be dead.'

The Telegraph reports the mayor of Arras, Frederic Leturque, said a French man was hit in the neck. He said: 'He's in hospital in Lille and his injuries are not life-threatening, as far as I know. He was conscious and I spoke to him.

'I gave medals during the night to several of the passengers who acted with such bravery in the train, including the British man, who lives in France.'

A forensic specialist examines the scene of the incident which happened about 115 miles north of Paris outside the town of Arras

Three people were injured, two of them seriously, after the gunman opened fire on Friday afternoon on the Amsterdam-Paris train. One of them, Spencer Stone, was slashed with a box cutter during the confrontation

French police said that the suspect was a 26-year-old Moroccan national and was known to security services

French authorities are currently investigating the motive behind today's shooting which left three injured

France has been an a state of high alert since the Charlie Hebdo massacre in January 2015 in Paris

Anglade also played the hard-nosed cop Eddy Caplan in the gritty French crime drama Braquo.

Thalys said on its website that several trains had been delayed after the 'intervention of security forces at Arras station'.

'The train is at the station and emergency services are at the scene,' said Thalys, which is jointly owned by the national rail companies of Belgium, France and Germany.

France remains on edge after Islamic extremists attacked the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in Paris in January.

In June, a man beheaded his boss and tried to blow up a gas plant in southern France in what prosecutors say was an attack inspired by ISIS.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of reports of shots being fired on a train in France.

'We are aware of reports that shots were fired on a train in France earlier today. The French authorities have responded. There are no reports that British nationals have been injured.'

Interior ministry spokesman Pierre Henry Brandet said: 'A man opened fire on this Thalys train between Amsterdam and Paris, one person was very seriously injured. Talking about a terrorist motive would be premature at the moment.'

Francois Hollande, the French president, has said: 'I express my solidarity with the wounded from the attack on the train from Amsterdam to Paris. Everything is being done to shed light on this tragedy.'

Emergency services greeted the train as it arrived in Arras to help with distressed passengers who witnessed the attempted atrocity

French anti-terror police are leading the investigation into the 26-year-old gunman who boarded the train in Brussels

The British Foreign Office said it was in contact with French authorities but confirmed no Britons were hurt during the incident

French President Francois Hollande said he wanted to express solidarity with those injured in Friday's attack

French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, (standing) played hardman cop Eddy Caplan in gritty crime drama Braquo was 'slightly injured'