Train gunman was armed with 270 bullets and bottle of petrol in 'premeditated and targeted' plot

The gunman who was foiled from carrying out a suspected terror attack on a high-speed train was armed with 270 rifle bullets and a bottle of petrol, French officials have revealed.

French prosecutor Francois Molins told a press conference that the Thalys suspect's plan seemed "premeditated and targeted" and his claim he planned to rob passengers was "far-fetched".

Three Americans and a British grandfather managed to subdue suspected jihadist Ayoub El-Khazzani, 26, after spotting the Moroccan loading an assault rifle on the train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday.

French officials have opened an investigation into the gunman over "attempted murders with terrorist intent".

The prosecutor said the gunman watched a YouTube video on his mobile phone calling on the faithful to take up arms.

"Ayoub El-Khazzani had watched YouTube audio files whilst already on the Thalys train in which an individual called on the faithful to fight and take up arms in the name of the Prophet," Mr Molins told reporters.

He also revealed the suspect spent five to seven months in France in 2014 before visiting Austria and Germany. He also went to a radical mosque in Spain in 2014, it was revealed.