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Gunman in high-speed train attack charged with terrorism

Anthony Sadler, center, who helped stop a terror attack on a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris, walks across the tarmac to a waiting vehicle at Sacramento International Airport, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in Sacramento, Calif. Sadler and two Sacramento-area friends, U.S. Air Force Airman Spencer Stone, and Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, helped subdue Ayoub El-Khazzani, a man with ties to radical Islam who was carrying a handgun and an assault weapon on the train Friday. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Anthony Sadler, center, who helped stop a terror attack on a high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris, walks across the tarmac to a waiting vehicle at Sacramento International Airport, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in Sacramento, Calif. Sadler and two Sacramento-area friends, U.S. Air Force Airman Spencer Stone, and Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, helped subdue Ayoub El-Khazzani, a man with ties to radical Islam who was carrying a handgun and an assault weapon on the train Friday. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

By Associated Press August 26, 2015 1 min read

PARIS (AP) – The Moroccan suspect in a foiled attack on a high-speed train is facing terrorism charges over what authorities say was a plan to unleash carnage among hundreds of passengers.

The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed Wednesday that Ayoub El-Khazzani was charged overnight. El-Khazzani, 26, was tackled and tied up by at least five passengers, including three Americans and a Briton. El-Khazzani has denied terrorism plans and said he stumbled upon a bag of weapons and decided to rob passengers.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins has said El-Khazzani watched a jihadi video on his cell phone moments before his attack and that – although he claimed to be homeless – he used a first-class ticket.

Among the terrorism charges he faces are multiple counts of attempted murder, possession of weapons, and conspiracy.