Americans who overpowered gunman 'heroes'

Three American men are being hailed as heroes for overpowering a heavily-armed gunman on a train in northern France. The incident happened on the high-speed Thalys service near Arras, and the attacker was arrested at Arras station.

US President Barack Obama praised the passengers, who included two off-duty US military personnel.

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

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

French authorities said three people were injured, two of them seriously - one with a gunshot wound, the other a knife wound.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the attack took place at 17:45 local time (15:45 GMT) on Friday.

BBC