Salah Abdeslam extradited to France from Belgium
Paris attacks' primary suspect Salah Abdeslam, has been extradited from Belgium to France. The news was announced by Belgian federal prosecutors. Salah Abdeslam, 26, has been accused of arranging logistics for the 13 November Paris attacks, which left 130 dead. He had planned to blow himself up at a sports stadium in Paris but had backed out at the last minute.
On 13 November 2015, a coordinated suicide bomb and gun attack, left over 130 people dead and injured over 300 others in Paris, France. Most of the suspects either died during the attacks or were killed in subsequent police raids. 11 people were arrested in Belgium in connection with the killings; however, several others are still at large and suspected to be in Brussels.
Police received intelligence about the presence of terrorists in Forest and launched search operations on 15 March. While raiding an abandoned house, police officers were fired upon by an individual carrying an AK47. Four officers were injured and the attacker was killed; however, two gunmen barricaded themselves inside the house. When police raided the house again after regrouping, the two attackers had escaped.
Authorities revealed that many of the people involved in planning as well as carrying out the Paris attacks were from Belgium. A senior Belgian counter-terrorism official said that, two terrorist operatives phoned in orders from Brussels to those directly involved in the Paris attacks.
A counter-terrorism raid in Brussels ended after a 24 hour siege in the south Brussels suburb of Forest. Officials said that the operation was conducted by Belgian and French law enforcement officers and was linked to the November 2015 Paris attacks. Four police officers were wounded in the operation while one of the three suspects was killed while the other two escaped.
Paris attacks' primary suspect Salah Abdeslam was wounded and captured in a raid in Brussels. Monir Ahmed Alaaj, another terrorist was arrested with him. The raid came after Abdeslam's fingerprints were detected in another flat in a previous raid in Brussels' Molenbeek district. French President Francois Hollande said he hoped that Abdeslam would be extradited to France "as rapidly as possible".
French Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas said that Belgium will hand over Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to France in no more than three months. In a statement to the press Urvoas said, "The definitive decision should be taken within 60 days of his arrest or 90 days if he lodges an appeal." Abdeslam's lawyer Sven Mary said he would fight his extradition to France.
Lawyers of the alleged leader of the 2015 Paris attacks stated that Saleh Abdeslam "has changed his mind" and "will not fight extradition" to France. Abdeslam was captured during anti-terrorism raids in Brussels earlier this month. His whereabouts were traced after authorities found his fingerprints in one of the first few houses that the raided in connection with the November 2015 Paris attacks.
The extradition of the primary suspect of the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, from Belgium to France is likely to take several weeks, authorities said. The delay is the result of an ongoing investigation of a shootout involving Abdeslam which took place earlier this month in Brussels. Abdeslam's lawyer Sven Mary also clarified that Abdeslam had not been implicated in the Brussels attacks yet.
Belgian authorities arrested the remaining key suspect in November's Paris terror attacks. The arrested Mohamed Abrini in all likelihood is the "man in the hat" seen on CCTV in the Brussels airport departure hall before the bomb blasts on 22 March. The authorities have also arrested 5 suspects including Osama K, who will be investigated over the bomb attack on the metro in Paris.
The Belgian federal prosecutor's office announced that Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has been charged with attempted murder in a shootout with police in Brussels. The Belgian-born French citizen is due to be extradited to France in coming days to face charges over the Paris attacks. Belgian police also questioned him over his links to the suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport and metro.
Paris attacks' primary suspect Salah Abdeslam, has been extradited from Belgium to France. The news was announced by Belgian federal prosecutors. Salah Abdeslam, 26, has been accused of arranging logistics for the 13 November Paris attacks, which left 130 dead. He had planned to blow himself up at a sports stadium in Paris but had backed out at the last minute.
