by Leigh Jones
Post Date:
August 21, 2015

American soldiers take down attacker on French train

Name: WORLD
Price range: $

Two American soldiers, so far unnamed, are being hailed as heroes after subduing a man who opened fire on a high-speed train traveling between Amsterdam and Paris.

One of the soldiers was injured in the attack, according to French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. A Pentagon spokesman said the injury was not life-threatening.

French officials have identified the attacker as a 26-year-old Moroccan man. They have not released his name. He injured two people, one with a handgun and one with some kind of knife or blade.

Investigators with the French anti-terror police are leading the investigation.

Cazeneuve said the two Americans “were particularly courageous and showed great bravery in very difficult circumstances” and that “without their sangfroid we could have been confronted with a terrible drama.”

Twin terror attacks rattled Paris in January and left 20 people dead. France is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Leigh Jones

Leigh is features editor for WORLD. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate who spent six years as a newspaper reporter in Texas before joining WORLD News Group. Leigh also co-wrote Infinite Monster: Courage, Hope, and Resurrection in the Face of One of America's Largest Hurricanes. She resides with her husband and daughter in Houston, Texas.