REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PARIS -- A gunman overpowered by passengers on a train in France on Friday was known to European authorities as a suspected Islamist militant, provided the identity he has given interrogators is correct, France's interior minister said.

Two people were wounded in the struggle to subdue the Kalashnikov-toting attacker aboard the high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris. Two U.S. servicemen, one of whom suffered knife wounds, were among passengers who stopped the gunman.

"It is important to be careful about his identity which is not yet established with certainty," Cazeneuve said.

"If the identity he has declared is confirmed, he is a 26-year-old man of Moroccan nationality identified by the Spanish authorities to French intelligence services in February 2014 because of his connections to the radical Islamist movement."

He said inquiries in collaboration with other European authorities "should establish precisely the activities and travels of this terrorist".

Spain's interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

A source with knowledge of the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the gunman had originally given a different identity which was unknown to the security services.

Cazeneuve said the attacker had a Kalashnikov assault rifle, an automatic pistol with accompanying ammunition clips and a box cutter knife. He said the struggle started when a Frenchman on his way to the toilet tried to stop the man entering a carriage.

The minister said the second person hurt was of Franco-American nationality, hit by a bullet while seated.

Authorities said last night a French actor had also been hurt.

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