TerrorismFingerprints of Paris attacks’ mastermind found in Brussels flat
The Belgian police found the fingerprints of Salah Abdeslam, a prime suspect in last November’s terrorist attacks in Paris, in the Brussels apartment raided by the police on Tuesday. Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French national who lived in Brussels, was driven from Paris to Belgium hours after the 13 November attacks, which killed 130 people. Ten Belgians who helped him escape Paris and hide in Brussels have been in custody since late November.
The Belgian police found the fingerprints of Salah Abdeslam, a prime suspect in last November’s terrorist attacks in Paris, in the Brussels apartment raided by the police on Tuesday.
Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French national who lived in Brussels, was driven from Paris to Belgium hours after the 13 November attacks, which killed 130 people. Ten Belgians who helped him escape Paris and hide in Brussels have been in custody since late November.
The Daily Mail reports that Belgian federal prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt confirmed that Abdeslam’s fingerprints were found at a flat in the Forest area of Brussels. A gunman was shot dead by the police searching the apartment. Two suspects managed to flee and are still on the run.
Van der Sypt said it was not yet known whether Abdeslam might be one of the two escapees.
He also said it was not yet clear how old the fingerprints were, or how long Abdeslam spent in the apartment.
The apartment was searched on Tuesday by a team of French and Belgian police.
When they arrived at the apartment, gunmen with automatic weapons opened fire on them. Four police were injured in the shoot-out, including a French police woman. One of the gunmen was shot dead by a police sniper and two suspects escaped.
Abdeslam played a key role in the logistics of the Paris attacks and escorted the three suicide bombers who blew themselves up at the Stade de France as part of the coordinated attacks. Investigators believe he planned to carry out his own suicide attack in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, but backed out. His brother blew himself up at a Paris bar on Boulevard Voltaire during the attacks.
Abdeslam then called friends in Brussels to come and pick him up in Paris hours after the attacks. Three friends came to collect him and drive him back to Belgium. Their car was stopped at the French-Belgian border, but their IDs did not arouse suspicion and they were allowed to continue.
The Belgian police said they have found two apartments and a house used by Abdeslam and other suspects in the run-up to the attacks.
