BRKG Paris Attack Fugative Salah Abdeslam Captured in Belgium Police Raid

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
More...

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://news.sky.com/story/1662599/paris-attacks-suspect-abdeslam-caught-alive

Paris Attacks Suspect Abdeslam 'Caught Alive'

Salah Abdeslam is tracked to a Brussels flat after his fingerprints were confirmed found in another apartment.

The most wanted fugitive from November's Paris attacks has been "caught alive" after being wounded in a Brussels shootout, say reports.


Salah Abdeslam is believed to have been injured during a major police operation in the Molenbeek suburb of the city, in which at least 10 shots were heard.

Grenades have also been used in the operation, it is understood.

Events As They Unfold: Live Blog

White smoke was seen emerging from one of the buildings in the area, Sky's Matt Rhodes said, reporting from the scene.

“There is a lot of protection in the road now ...They are locking off many of the sides exits and streets," Rhodes said.

Belgium's La Libre newspaper said two people had been injured in the shootout.


A police helicopter was heard overhead and many fire engines were seen near to the location, in the street.

Belgium's Prime Minster Charles Michel has left the EU-Turkey migrant crisis summit amid the reports.

Back in November it was reported that Abdeslam had reportedly returned to Brussels with a suicide vest - and "may have been ready to blow himself up".

A police source had told The Sunday Times of fears "there is a walking bomb" in the Belgian capital.

The source said Abdeslam may have become "trapped and desperate" since fleeing the bloodshed which killed 130 people.

More follows...
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/The-Latest-Belgian-media-Raid-underway-in-6921988.php

The Latest: Belgian media: Raid underway in Brussels

Updated 9:42 am, Friday, March 18, 2016

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Latest on developments in Brussels, where authorities are conducting a raid after they said they found the fingerprints of a fugitive Paris attacks suspect in an apartment earlier this week (all times local):

5:30 p.m. EDT:

Police have descended in force to search a residence in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels, and Belgian media are reporting gunshots have been fired.

RTBF French-language TV reported late Friday afternoon that two people had been wounded.

The raids come after Belgian authorities said that fingerprints in an apartment raided earlier this week in another Brussels neighborhood belonged to the main fugitive from the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam.

As events unfolded, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel rushed out of a European Union summit, and was expected to be joined at Belgian government offices by Interior Minister Jan Jambon, RTBF said.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
And no shootout? What kind of 'terrorist' IS this?

Various reports are of a shoot out and this guy being taken. Still being sorted out.

Regarding prior raid I posted about in the WoW thread.....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/u...ed-isis-terrorist-7583915#SvyMteAgIDdQFuFA.97

World's 'most wanted ISIS terrorist' made astonishing escape from Brussels police raid that killed Paris attacks suspect

14:30, 18 Mar 2016
Updated 15:25, 18 Mar 2016
By Peter Allen , Sophie Evans

Salah Abdeslam, 26, is 'more than likely' one of the two men believed to be on the run after police stormed a flat in Brussels on Tuesday


The world's most wanted terrorist is thought to have made an astonishing escape from a police raid in which one of the Paris attacks suspects was shot dead, detectives said today.

Salah Abdeslam, 26, has been on the run since November after taking part in the Paris massacres in which 130 people were murdered.

He has narrowly evaded capture on numerous occasions since then, and is known to have been in a Brussels flat that was raided on Tuesday.

A fierce gunfight took place around the property in the Forest district of the Belgian capital, and one Kalashnikov-wielding jihadi was gunned down.


But it is thought that Abdeslam could be one of two men who managed to escape across rooftops after getting out of a skylight.

His fingerprints were found inside the flat, which was being used as a hideout, and as a forged documents factory.


"It is more than likely that Abdeslam was one of the those who managed to escape, and everything is still being done to try and find him," said a police source close to the ongoing manhunt.

Abdeslam’s DNA was also found on glass which ended up being shattered by bullets flying in and out during the raid, in which four police officers were injured.

Abdeslam removed his suicide vest and fled the Friday November 13 carnage in Paris, after dropping off other killers in a car he had hired.

Read more: French task force returns to Bataclan concert hall amid accusations of 'voyeurism' from victims' families

He got friends to drive him back to Brussels and – despite three police checks – managed to get away.

Since then there have numerous theories as to where he might be, ranging from the Isis caliphate in Syria, to Morocco, where Abdeslam originally comes from.

Hundreds of police forces are involved in the search for him, with Most Wanted posters issued all over the world.

Read more: Paris attack suspects on the run after Brussels shoot-out leaves four police officers hurt

On Wednesday, prosecutors released two men held in the wake of Tuesday’s raid without charge, but the hunt for two unidentified suspects continues.

The dead man was identified as Mohamed Belkaid, an Algerian living illegally in Belgium.

Belkaid, 35, was shot dead by a police sniper as he prepared to fire on police from a window, prosecutors said.

Video


A Kalashnikov was found by his body, as well as a book on Salafism, the extremist ideology which drives ISIS.

A black and white Isis flag was discovered inside the flat, along with a large stock of ammunition.

A Belgian Moroccan aged 27 was said to be managing the Forest flat where the shoot-out took place.

The unnamed man is said to have signed a lease on another flat in nearby Charleroi, which some of the Paris gunmen also visited.


The other nine men who took part in the Paris attacks all died, either through machine gun fire or because they blew themselves up.

One of them was Abdelslam’s brother, Brahim Abdeslam, who blew himself up in a café.

Eleven people based in Belgium have so far been charged in connection with the Paris attacks. Eight of those 11 remain in custody.

Forest is close to the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, where many of those behind the Paris attacks, including the Abdelsam brothers.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.independent.ie/world-new...ught-and-wounded-in-police-raid-34553301.html

Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam 'caught and wounded in police raid'

Independent.ie Newsdesk ©û
Published 18/03/2016 | 16:43

One of the main suspects in the Paris attacks from last November, Salah Abdeslam has been wounded and caught by police in an operation this afternoon in the Brussels quarter of Molenbeeck, Belgian media reported.

One other suspect was shot dead in the operation and another wounded, the Derniere Heure paper said on its website.

It is reported Abdeslam was shot in the legs and has been taken to hospital under heavy security.

At least one suspect is still understood to still be holed up inside the building.

Belgian Police descended in force to search a residence in the Molenbeek neighbourhood of Brussels.

French President Francois Hollande said it was not possible at this stage to confirm if the arrested man was the terror mastermind.

READ MORE: Islamic State flag and Kalashnikov found in Brussels suspect's apartment

Mr Hollande told reporters in Brussels that he would not give details on the "operation that is under way".

He confirmed that the person being sought was linked to the Paris attacks, but that any speculation over the fate of the individual would run counter to efforts "to stop or neutralise this individual".

READ MORE: Secret agents swoop on four people 'to foil terror attack' in Paris

Belgian federal prosecutors today confirmed that they found Salah Abdeslam's fingerprints, a prime suspect following the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, in a Brussels raid on Tuesday.

As events unfolded, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel rushed out of a European Union summit, and was expected to be joined at Belgian government offices by Interior Minister Jan Jambon, RTBF said.

The summit was taking place just 10km away from the site of the operation.


Online Editors
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Yeah this is one of those "no go zone" neighborhoods....

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.8426906,4.3276415,13.57z

wealth-brussels.gif

http://www.eupedia.com/images/content/wealth-brussels.gif

5589_carte+bxl+vld+2012[1].jpg

http://www.39-45.org/files3945c/5589_carte+bxl+vld+2012[1].jpg
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.independent.ie/world-new...slam-captured-in-brussels-raids-34553301.html

BREAKING: 'We got him' - Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam captured in Brussels raids

Independent.ie Newsdesk ©ûTwitter
Published 18/03/2016 | 16:43
3 Comments

One of the main suspects in the Paris attacks from last November, Salah Abdeslam, has been captured in a security operation in Brussels this evening.

The Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Theo Francken, confirmed the news on Twitter.

He simply tweeted: "We got him".

One other suspect was shot dead in the operation and another wounded, the Derniere Heure paper said on its website.

It is reported Abdeslam was shot in the legs and has been taken to hospital under heavy security.

At least one suspect is still understood to still be holed up inside the building.

READ MORE: Salah Abdeslam: What we know about the most wanted man in the world

Belgian Police descended in force to search a residence in the Molenbeek neighbourhood of Brussels.

French President Francois Hollande said it was not possible at this stage to confirm if the arrested man was the terror mastermind.

READ MORE: Islamic State flag and Kalashnikov found in Brussels suspect's apartment

Mr Hollande told reporters in Brussels that he would not give details on the "operation that is under way".

He confirmed that the person being sought was linked to the Paris attacks, but that any speculation over the fate of the individual would run counter to efforts "to stop or neutralise this individual".

READ MORE: Secret agents swoop on four people 'to foil terror attack' in Paris

Belgian federal prosecutors today confirmed that they found Salah Abdeslam's fingerprints, a prime suspect following the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, in a Brussels raid on Tuesday.

As events unfolded, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel rushed out of a European Union summit, and was expected to be joined at Belgian government offices by Interior Minister Jan Jambon, RTBF said.

The summit was taking place just 10km away from the site of the operation.

A spokesperson for the White House said the US government had used extensive resources to help European authorities track the terrorist suspects since last November's attacks.

Online Editors
 

mzkitty

I give up.
5m
Upcoming: French President Francois Hollande and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel are expected to hold a joint press conference shortly on the police operation in Molenbeek that lead to the capture of Paris terror suspect Salah Abdeslam. The announcement will be held in Brussels at 19:00 local time (2pm ET), according French newspaper Le Figaro. Abdeslam is the last survivor of 10 Paris terror suspects. We'll watch for updates.

Creepy freak:
 

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Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
They're showing video of the outer perimeter....The cops there are in riot gear, not full "tactical" loadout.
 

mzkitty

I give up.
18m
Editor's note: Salah Abdeslam, arrested in Belgium today, was the sole man on the run among the 10 suspects said to have had direct involvement in executing the November terror attacks in Paris in which 130 people were killed. Abdeslam was known to have traveled to Belgium the night after the attacks, and was stopped by French police who allowed him to travel onward. Twice since, once in December and again Tuesday, prosecutors said his fingerprints had been found in raids in Brussels. Considered Europe's most wanted man, his family called for him to turn himself in, while news reports over the past four months have placed him in locations including Morocco and Syria. - Tricia
End of note


The last person to be executed in France was Hamida Djandoubi, who was put to death in September 1977. The death penalty was abolished in French law in 1981. It is now also forbidden by the French constitution, and by several human rights treaties to which France is a party.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_France
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
They're showing video of the outer perimeter....The cops there are in riot gear, not full "tactical" loadout.

Live video from the perimeter, cops with dogs have chased off groups of "youths' gathering behind the media. I'm getting the feeling they might have some "unrest" over this tonight/this weekend.
 

mzkitty

I give up.

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment

mzkitty

I give up.
Now being reported on Fox....Discussing the possible actions of the network that sheltered this guy (go to ground, passively resist or go "kinetic")...compared to taking a stick to a hornet's nest.

Hmm, don't look very large to me:

Mashable News Verified account ‏@MashableNews 2m2 minutes ago
Video shows moment of blasts at site of #Molenbeek area where raids underway

https://twitter.com/MashableNews/status/710897382511271940


They've got big German Shepherds there, and apparently the muzzies are afraid of the dogs. LOL.
 

mzkitty

I give up.
5m
Editor's note: Several media outlets - among them, Sky News and the Guardian - are reporting a third suspect has been captured in the raids in Brussels. We're looking for confirmation from an official source. - Tom
End of note


SPOTLIGHTRUMP 2016 ‏@UKRAINEWS2014 13m13 minutes ago
SPOTLIGHTRUMP 2016 Retweeted Frenkie

#Molenbeek is the Gaza Strip of #Belgium
 

mzkitty

I give up.
John van der Tol ‏@johnvandertol 30s31 seconds ago

PM Charles Michel: Three people arrested, including Salah Abdeslam #molenbeek #belgium #abdeslam
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Now in English....IS has a big support base in this part of Europe... Belgian PM... Now French Pres. Hollande in French....
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-belgian-media-raid-underway-brussels-37752393

The Latest: French President: Paris Attacks Probe Not Over

By The Associated Press · BRUSSELS — Mar 18, 2016, 3:48 PM ET

The Latest on developments in Brussels, where officials say Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam has been captured (all times local):

8:45 p.m.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel says three suspects have been detained in a raid in Brussels, including fugitive Salah Abdeslam.

Michel says it is a success in the "fight against terrorism." He says security forces captured Abdeslam and the two others.

French President Francois Hollande says Abdeslam has been formally identified. He congratulated the Belgian government for an operation that lasted several weeks and said the investigation is not over and more arrests will come.

Authorities say Abdeslam was among several attackers who targeted cafes, a rock concert and a stadium in Paris' deadliest attacks in decades, which killed 130 people.

———

7:35 p.m.

Officials are taking to Twitter to mark the capture of Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam in Brussels.

Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition, tweeted, "Congratulations to Belgium authorities on capture of ISIL terrorist Saleh Abdeslam. We will never forget his and all ISIL victims."

In Belgium, migration state secretary Theo Francken tweeted, "We have him."

———

7:25 p.m.

Two explosions have been heard in a Brussels neighborhood where a Paris attacks fugitive was captured and police were looking for another person.

The deputy mayor of the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek earlier told The Associated Press police were still searching for one person who is holed up in a house.

French television showed images of police dragging a man with a white hooded sweatshirt into an unmarked police car.

Earlier in the day, police captured Salah Abdeslam, who has been on the run for four months since the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people.

Molenbeek has issued an emergency plan to give shelter to people who cannot go home because of police operations.

———

7 p.m.:

The deputy mayor of the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek says he's received confirmation from the Belgian federal prosecutor's office that Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam has been shot in the leg and detained.

Ahmed El Khannouss tells The Associated Press that Abdeslam was hurt and police have taken him away. He says police are still searching for one person who is holed up in a house.

Abdeslam has been on the run since the November attacks that killed 130 people. Molenbeek is home to several people involved in the attacks.

El Khannouss told i-Tele television earlier that there are two schools a few dozen meters (yards) from the ongoing police operation, and authorities have taken measures to secure them and residents.

Helmeted police with riot shields have cordoned off the area.

———

6:20 p.m.:

Two French police officials have told The Associated Press that Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive from Islamic extremist attacks in Paris in November, has been arrested in Belgium's capital after four months at large.

They said he was arrested Friday in a major police operation in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek. Both officials are in contact with people involved in the operation and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing operation.

Abdeslam was among several attackers who targeted cafes, a rock concert and a stadium in Paris' deadliest attacks in decades, which killed 130 people.

— By Associated Press Writer Lori Hinnant

———

5:45 p.m.:

French President Francois Hollande says an important police operation is underway in a Brussels neighborhood in connection with the November Islamic extremist attacks in Paris.

Hollande told reporters in Brussels on Friday that he would not give details on the "operation that is under way."

Hollande confirmed that the person being sought was linked to the Paris attacks but that any speculation over the fate of the individual would run counter to efforts "to stop or neutralize this individual."

Molenbeek Mayor Francoise Schepmans confirmed two people injured in the operation, which she said are continuing, but that she couldn't confirm Belgian media reports Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive from the Paris attacks, was one of two people hurt.

———

5:30 p.m.:

Police have descended in force to search a residence in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels, and Belgian media are reporting gunshots have been fired.

RTBF French-language TV reported late Friday afternoon that two people had been wounded.

The raids come after Belgian authorities said that fingerprints in an apartment raided earlier this week in another Brussels neighborhood belonged to the main fugitive from the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam.

As events unfolded, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel rushed out of a European Union summit, and was expected to be joined at Belgian government offices by Interior Minister Jan Jambon, RTBF said.

———

This story has been corrected to show that the Molenbeek mayor's first name is Francoise, not Francois.

7:35 p.m.

Officials are taking to Twitter to mark the capture of Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam in Brussels.

Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition, tweeted, "Congratulations to Belgium authorities on capture of ISIL terrorist Saleh Abdeslam. We will never forget his and all ISIL victims."

In Belgium, migration state secretary Theo Francken tweeted, "We have him."

———

7:25 p.m.

Two explosions have been heard in a Brussels neighborhood where a Paris attacks fugitive was captured and police were looking for another person.

The deputy mayor of the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek earlier told The Associated Press police were still searching for one person who is holed up in a house.

French television showed images of police dragging a man with a white hooded sweatshirt into an unmarked police car.

Earlier in the day, police captured Salah Abdeslam, who has been on the run for four months since the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people.

Molenbeek has issued an emergency plan to give shelter to people who cannot go home because of police operations.

———

7 p.m.:

The deputy mayor of the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek says he's received confirmation from the Belgian federal prosecutor's office that Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam has been shot in the leg and detained.

Ahmed El Khannouss tells The Associated Press that Abdeslam was hurt and police have taken him away. He says police are still searching for one person who is holed up in a house.

Abdeslam has been on the run since the November attacks that killed 130 people. Molenbeek is home to several people involved in the attacks.

El Khannouss told i-Tele television earlier that there are two schools a few dozen meters (yards) from the ongoing police operation, and authorities have taken measures to secure them and residents.

Helmeted police with riot shields have cordoned off the area.

———

6:20 p.m.:

Two French police officials have told The Associated Press that Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive from Islamic extremist attacks in Paris in November, has been arrested in Belgium's capital after four months at large.

They said he was arrested Friday in a major police operation in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek. Both officials are in contact with people involved in the operation and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing operation.

Abdeslam was among several attackers who targeted cafes, a rock concert and a stadium in Paris' deadliest attacks in decades, which killed 130 people.

— By Associated Press Writer Lori Hinnant

———

5:45 p.m.:

French President Francois Hollande says an important police operation is underway in a Brussels neighborhood in connection with the November Islamic extremist attacks in Paris.

Hollande told reporters in Brussels on Friday that he would not give details on the "operation that is under way."

Hollande confirmed that the person being sought was linked to the Paris attacks but that any speculation over the fate of the individual would run counter to efforts "to stop or neutralize this individual."

Molenbeek Mayor Francoise Schepmans confirmed two people injured in the operation, which she said are continuing, but that she couldn't confirm Belgian media reports Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive from the Paris attacks, was one of two people hurt.

———

5:30 p.m.:

Police have descended in force to search a residence in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels, and Belgian media are reporting gunshots have been fired.

RTBF French-language TV reported late Friday afternoon that two people had been wounded.

The raids come after Belgian authorities said that fingerprints in an apartment raided earlier this week in another Brussels neighborhood belonged to the main fugitive from the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam.

As events unfolded, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel rushed out of a European Union summit, and was expected to be joined at Belgian government offices by Interior Minister Jan Jambon, RTBF said.

———

This story has been corrected to show that the Molenbeek mayor's first name is Francoise, not Francois.
 

mzkitty

I give up.
Many more where those came from.



18m
French President Hollande: The group responsible for the November attacks in Paris was 'a large network' with links to Syria and the Islamic State
End of alert


20m
French President François Hollande said France will quickly seek the extradition of Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam
End of alert


DominicTschoepe ‏@mokeemojo 5m5 minutes ago

Asking myself how #Molenbeek would look like, if Belgium would be a Turkish province?!


Konstantin_News ‏@polarnywolf 1m1 minute ago

In case you are wondering, that actually takes place in #Belgium #Molenbeek #Europe Not in Irak or Syria
#Abdeslam
 

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mzkitty

I give up.
No! Really? You don't say.............

:rolleyes:

8m
French President Hollande: More people involved in Paris plot than initially thought - AP, Reuters
End of alert
 

mzkitty

I give up.
3m
French President Hollande: Everywhere in Belgium or France, terror threat level is very high - AP
End of alert
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Considering the day after the Paris attack people on the street in the Molenbeek district (94,000, 50% Muslim) were openly voicing their support for the attack and offering aid to the attackers.....

Belgian military....Active duty 30,174; Reserve personnel 1,673 (Wikipedia)

Federal Police....9,065 operatives (Wikipedia)

And that's just one such district in Belgium....
 

mzkitty

I give up.
There will never be an end of it anywhere until they are all forced back to their countries of origin, much like Spain did back in the day.

Bad guests = Getting the boot at some point.
 

mzkitty

I give up.
7m
Belgium prosecutor: 3 members of a family hosting Salah Abdeslam have been arrested as well as an accomplice - Euro News
 

mzkitty

I give up.
Just to be clear:

Reihaneh Mazaheri Verified account ‏@ReyMazaheri 8m8 minutes ago

Five arrested including Paris suspect Abdeslam: prosecutors
#ParisAttacks #Molenbeek #Belgium
http://u.afp.com/Z8cT


Rik Delhaas ‏@RikDelhaas 12m12 minutes ago Amsterdam, The Netherlands

3 of 5 arrested in #Belgium members of same family who gave shelter to #Abdeslam #Parisattacks #Molenbeek
 

Laurane

Canadian Loonie
This is the guy that Trump calls "the man with the dirty hat", when the media were all calling him the "Mastermind".....they shut up after he did that.
 

inskanoot

Veteran Member
Wasn't that the guy who showed up on the news webcam a few days after the attack? He looked right at the webcam and smirked.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-shooting-abdeslam-idUSKCN0WK1KB

World | Sat Mar 19, 2016 7:40am EDT
Related: World

Captured Paris attacks suspect moved from Belgian hospital to jail

BRUSSELS | By Philip Blenkinsop and Hortense de Roffignac


Belgian police moved Europe's most wanted man from hospital to a high-security jail on Saturday, where he will face questions about the Paris attacks and likely charges, a day after his arrest in a Brussels shootout.

Salah Abdeslam, 26, the first person suspected to have played an active part in attacks in Paris to have been taken alive, was held in a Brussels hospital after being shot in the leg during Friday's police raid near his parents' home.

He and a second man, identified as Monir Ahmed Alaaj, are expected to appear before a magistrate, who should outline the charges they face and authorize their detention for five days.

Belgian and French prosecutors were also discussing on Saturday how to proceed with the investigation.

Security services will be seeking information from Abdeslam on Islamic State plans and structures, his contacts in Europe and Syria and support networks and finance. Over the past four months, France and Belgium have detained several people linked to the prime suspects but none they suspect of a major role.

French President Francois Hollande, who had been visiting Brussels for a European summit when Friday's drama unfolded, has said France would seek extradition for the Brussels-based Frenchman. Abdeslam was, Hollande said, definitely in Paris on the bloody night of Friday, Nov. 13 when 130 people were killed.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel summoned security and intelligence chiefs to an emergency sitting of Belgium's national security council, for the second time in four days.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders told reporters that authorities had possibly foiled another attack.

"We are very happy to have taken such an important step in the investigation into to Paris attacks, but we're not at the end of the road," he said.

Friday's swoop came after fake passports and Abdeslam's fingerprints were found following a bloody raid on Tuesday in which Mohamed Belkaid, a 35-year-old Algerian not on security watchlists, was shot dead and police officers wounded.


Related Coverage
› Parisians express relief, want justice after Abdeslam arrest


ON THE RUN IN BRUSSELS

Abdeslam has been on the run for four months after returning from Paris to Brussels hours after the Nov. 13 attacks.

His elder brother, a Brussels barkeeper who shared a chequered history of drugs and petty crime, blew himself up outside a Parisian cafe that night. Hollande said the younger man's role in the killings was unclear, but investigators were sure he helped plan the operation for the Syria-based group.

Since all the identified attackers were killed, Abdeslam offers France a chance to understand what happened.

Related Video

Video

Paris attacker caught after Brussels shootout

Video

Fugitive from Paris attacks wounded in Brussels shootout: media

Hollande said that many more people were involved in the attacks on a sports stadium, bars and cafes and a concert hall than first thought.

One of those may be Alaaj, who using the false name Amine Choukri had been briefly picked up by German police with Abdeslam in southern Germany in October 2015.

Near to the scene of Friday evening's raid in the Brussels borough of Molenbeek, Dominique, the owner of a newspaper and tobacco shop who said he knew Abdeslam, said the gunshots had been a shock for the whole community.

"Originally a very nice boy. How can it go that far? That's something else," he told Reuters television.

Related Coverage
› Paris attacks prime suspect went underground in Brussels

FINGERPRINTS

Molenbeek is a down-at-heel borough that is home to many Muslim immigrants, notably of Moroccan descent like Abdeslam's family. There had long been speculation about whether Abdeslam had stayed in Belgium or managed to flee to Syria.

A man and two women, members of what prosecutors said was "the family which hid Abdeslam," were detained with the two wanted men and will be questioned. Investigators will want to know how extensive a network, under a code of silence, was able to hide such a high-profile fugitive in a busy inner city neighborhood just a few hundred yards from his parents' home.

Security agencies' difficulties in penetrating some Muslim communities, particularly in pursuit of Belgium's unusually high number of citizens fighting in Syria, has been a key factor in the inquiry, along with arms dealing in Brussels.

A four-month inquiry that had seemed to go cold, heated up when French and Belgium officers went to an apartment in the southern Brussels suburb of Forest on Tuesday.

Thinking they were simply looking for physical evidence, they were instead confronted by at least two people spraying automatic gunfire at them as they opened the door.

Then on Friday, local media reported, a tapped telephone confirmed that Abdeslam was in the house in rue des Quatre-Vents in Molenbeek. After French media broke word that Abdeslam's fingerprints had been found, police moved in and seized him.


(Writing by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Alexander Smith)
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/world/europe/paris-terror-attacks-suspect-belgium.html?_r=0

Europe

Paris Suspect Claims He ‘Backed Out’ of Stadium Bombing, Prosecutor Says

By AURELIEN BREEDEN and ALISSA J. RUBIN
MARCH 19, 2016

BRUSSELS — Salah Abdeslam, believed to be the only direct participant in the November attacks in Paris who is still alive, told investigators on Saturday after being captured a day earlier that he had wanted to detonate his suicide vest at the Stade de France soccer stadium on the night of the attacks, but “backed out,” said the lead terrorism prosecutor in France.

Three of the attackers detonated their vests there, but killed just one person and themselves on Nov. 13 during a match between France and Germany.

The prosecutor, François Molins, warned against putting too much stock in anything Mr. Abdeslam said at such an early stage. “These first statements leave unanswered a whole series of questions that Salah Abdeslam will have to answer,” he said.

At his first hearing before a judge in Belgium on Saturday, Mr. Abdeslam made it clear that he would fight his extradition to France, his lawyer, Sven Mary, said.

Mr. Mary spoke to journalists after he and Mr. Abdeslam met with a Belgian magistrate who was to decide whether to issue a formal arrest warrant against Mr. Abdeslam, who is accused of playing a key role in the Nov. 13 attacks on a concert, cafes and a stadium that killed 130 people.

Later Saturday, the magistrate issued the warrant, the federal prosecutor’s office said.

Mr. Abdeslam, 27, was captured with another person suspected of being an accomplice, and both were taken to a hospital in Brussels. They were discharged early Saturday, Yvan Mayeur, the Brussels mayor, announced in a Twitter message.

Mr. Abdeslam, a French citizen, is subject to a European arrest warrant issued by France. His seizure in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek after he spent four months on the run brought relief to people who had seen his wanted poster all over two countries for months.

Bernard Cazeneuve, the French interior minister, said Saturday that he hoped Mr. Abdeslam could be delivered to France to face justice. He spoke after President François Hollande held an emergency security meeting in Paris.

Mr. Hollande has warned that more arrests will come as the authorities try to dismantle a network involved in the attacks that is much larger than originally suspected. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks.

There are worries in Belgium that more attacks were being planned in part because in one of the Brussels apartments where Mr. Abdeslam’s fingerprints were found earlier in the week, the police found a flag of the Islamic State as well as a large amount of ammunition. The flag is frequently used as a prop in martyrdom videos that are filmed by the participants in attacks before they carry out the operation.

Mr. Cazeneuve called Mr. Abdeslam’s arrest a “major blow” to the Islamic State group in Europe, but warned that the threat of new attacks remained “extremely high.”

Belgium’s prime minister, Charles Michel, also said that “the fight is not over,” and the Belgian government announced that the nation’s terrorism alert level would remain unchanged at three on a four-point scale.

A Belgian federal prosecutor, Eric Van der Sypt, said that with an arrest warrant, Mr. Abdeslam would have to appear before a pretrial court, which will decide whether he stays in jail for up to an additional month.


A version of this article appears in print on March 20, 2016, on page A13 of the New York edition.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
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http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/19/opinions/paris-terrorist-will-he-talk-kayyem/

What's at stake if Paris terrorist talks -- or doesn't

By Juliette Kayyem, CNN National Security Analyst
Updated 9:10 AM ET, Sat March 19, 2016

Editor's Note: CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem is a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School, a former assistant secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration and founder of Kayyem Solutions, a security consulting firm. She is the host of the "Security Mom" podcast and author of a forthcoming book, "Security Mom: An Unclassified Guide to Protecting Our Homeland and Your Home." The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers.


(CNN) ¡X Four months after the Paris terror attacks, suspect Salah Abdeslam was captured on Friday in Belgium. The search for the world's most wanted man ended with no additional harm to citizens or first responders, thankfully. And it ended in minimal harm to Abdeslam himself, who is alive and relatively well.

A terrorist captured alive is a major plus for investigators and counterterrorism efforts -- and for the families and victims who may now see some justice. The question now is: Will he talk? It would be a promising turn of events if he did, but the capture would still be a success if he doesn't.

Since European interrogators are not under the same time constraints as in the United States, they will be able to spend considerable time with Abdeslam to get him to talk. Traditional interrogation techniques are often successful in getting detainees to feel the urge to disclose information.

It may not work. But here's a plus most are not thinking of: His terrorist brethren likely will not know whether it does work. Even if Abdeslam never utters a word again, they will have no idea that is the case. They do not know if Abdeslam, who kept running and hiding rather than sacrificing his own life for a cause that he seemed more than willing to have others sacrifice theirs for, will be weak or strong in the face of his upcoming isolation and interrogation.

Given the nature of terrorist organizations and the compartmentalization of information, these other ISIS members may not know who and what else Abdeslam knows. In other words, those in both his inner and outer circles will simply have no sense of how much Abdeslam will try to save himself and sacrifice them.

And this fact alone gives European officials exceptional leverage. Any effective law enforcement agency will start to purposefully "leak" information to the media that Abdeslam is spilling his guts, making amends, chatting away and looking for a deal.

It may or may not be true; for all we know, Abdeslam might not be speaking at all. But his terrorist colleagues will have to wonder if Abdeslam, who never did use that suicide vest he was supposed to detonate during the Paris attacks or anytime after, is a weak person to depend on.

It is this growing sense of unease by ISIS members that will help counterterrorism officials. If you are one of the likely dozens of ISIS members who helped him along the way -- helped hide him, feed him, protect him -- or aided him in the Paris attacks, you have got to be thinking that this isn't such a good turn of events. And so you run. Or you do something stupid. Or you turn on each other.

In the Cold War days, the technique of using intelligence to sow seeds of distrust and fear among an enemy group was called "black propaganda." It hasn't gone away. And the hope is that these terrorists, in response to Abdeslam's capture, will worry so much that they will stray from their plans, move and transit in ways that they hadn't once intended, and therefore make themselves vulnerable to detection and capture. As a result, more terrorists will be caught.

Some will talk and some will not, but each capture will provide more information, helping investigators put together a clearer picture of the web of networks.

Will Abdeslam talk? If he does, we will learn a lot about the ISIS organization in Europe. If he doesn't, we still could.
 

Be Well

may all be well
3m
French President Hollande: Everywhere in Belgium or France, terror threat level is very high - AP
End of alert

Hollande and other Europeeps - now think this through to the end. Please, for the well being of your citizens.
 
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