Belgian prosecutors open anti-terror probe after train attack

BRUSSELS - Belgian prosecutors said Saturday they had formally opened an anti-terrorism probe after a gunman opened fire on high-speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris.

"We have opened an inquiry under the anti-terrorism law... as the suspect boarded the train in Brussels," said Eric Van der Sypt, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

Three young Americans on Friday overwhelmed a man who opened fire with a Kalashnikov onboard the Thalys express.

The train stopped in northern France where the suspect was handed over to French police.

French prosecutors said late Friday that counter-terrorism investigators had taken over the French side of the probe.

The suspect is thought to be a 26-year-old of Moroccan origin who had lived in Spain, according to sources close to the French investigation.

He was known to the French authorities after being flagged as a potential jihadist by Spanish intelligence services.