Passengers on German train overpower attacker who hurt five

Police officers standing in front of a regional train in Herzogenrath, Germany (Ralf Roeger/dpa/AP)

Three passengers on a regional train in Germany have overpowered an Iraq-born man who hurt five people with a knife, authorities said.

The train was travelling near the western city of Aachen when the man began attacking fellow passengers “randomly and arbitrarily” on Friday, state interior minister Herbert Reul said, according to the news agency dpa.