The gunman who was tackled by passengers on a train in northern France last week was carrying a “petrol-like” liquid and may have been planning to set fire to the carriage, it has been reported.
French prosecutors had until late on Tuesday to decide what charges to bring against 26-year-old Ayoub El-Khazzani, who has said he was trying to rob those on board the train using weapons he found in a park.
A source close to the French investigation was reported by the AFP news agency saying El-Khazzani viewed extremist propaganda on his phone shortly before boarding the train in Brussels.
The online video was said to have shown jihadist songs, and the source said he watched it “between the time that he bought his ticket and the time he boarded the train”.
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Other sources said El-Khazzani may have been planning to burn up the scene of the attack after he had fired the 270 rounds of ammunition he was accused of bringing on board.
They told the Telegraph: “A liquid smelling like petrol was found in his bag. It’s been sent for analysis.”
El-Khazzani was being held without charge since Friday evening, when he was subdued by three American friends and a British businessman and then handed over to police.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins today announced that a terror investigation into the incident has been launched.
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Mr Molins said the decision to begin the investigation was based on El-Khazzani's actions and the information from other European authorities about his travels and apparent links to radical Islam.
El-Khazzani had travelled through several European countries and had been repeatedly incarcerated in Spain, Mr Molins said. He may have tried to go to Syria.
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In questioning, El-Khazzani initially said he had found a bag of weapons the night before in a Brussels park and planned to use them to rob passengers, according to Mr Molins.
But his explanation grew less and less lucid, the prosecutor said, and the suspect eventually stopped speaking to investigators at all.
