Belgium issues appeal for new Paris attacks suspect Najim Laachraoui
Brussels, Belgium (CNN)Belgian and French police have launched a manhunt for a newly identified suspect linked to November's Paris terror attacks, the Belgian prosecutors' office said Monday.
Najim Laachraoui, 24, who has used the alias Soufiane Kayal, traveled with recently arrested terror suspect Salah Abdeslam to Budapest, Hungary, in September of last year, the office said in a statement appealing for public sightings of the man.
Authorities had previously said that a man using the Kayal alias had been in contact via phone with Paris attacks ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, and that the name had been used to rent a villa in Auvelais, southern Belgium, which was used by the plotters.
Laachraoui's DNA was found in the Auvelais villa and another house in the Schaerbeek district of Brussels that was used by the group, the Belgian prosecutors' office said Monday. Laachraoui had gone to Syria in February of 2013, the statement said.
They are also searching for Mohammed Abrini, a previously identified suspected accomplice of Abdeslam's who is believed to have driven him to Paris to carry out the attacks, which were claimed by the Sunni terror group ISIS.
Attackers' networks bigger than thought
Abdeslam was arrested in a gun battle in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek on Friday and has been charged with participation in a terrorist murder and taking part in the activities of a terrorist organization.
The 26-year-old, who evaded authorities for more than four months until his arrest, is fighting extradition to France, said his lawyer, Sven Mary.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins has said Abdeslam had a key role in planning the attacks, in which nine terrorists killed 130 people with guns and bombs in Parisian restaurants, shops and a concert venue the night of November 13.
Paris terror attacks: complete coverage
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said Sunday that Abdeslam's arrest had resulted in authorities recovering a large number of heavy weapons, and he confirmed that a network in Brussels had supported Abdeslam.
"He was ready to restart something in Brussels," Reynders said, adding that the investigation that led to his capture had shown that more people were involved in the Paris attacks than previously thought.
"After the terror attacks in Paris, I said to one TV channel in the U.S. that we were searching for around 10 people with heavy weapons. We have far more than that since November, and not only in Belgium but also in France," he said.
"For the moment we have found more than 30 people involved in the terrorist attacks in Paris, but we are sure there are others."
Other charges in Friday raid
After the raid that captured Abdeslam, police charged Monir Ahmed Alaaj, also known as Amine Choukri, with the same crimes as Abdeslam. Alaaj was also wounded in Friday's gun battle.
Three others were detained in the operation, one of whom was charged with participating in a terror group's activities and hiding criminals, and another with hiding criminals. The third was freed without being charged.
Belgian State Security Chief Jaak Raes told CNN Belgian affiliate VTM News on Sunday that taking Abdeslam alive had been "of the utmost importance" because it allowed authorities to "try to reconstruct the entire scenario."
He warned that the threat posed by ISIS to Europe was far from over, saying: "We know that a number of people are possibly on their way to Western Europe, with the intention of conducting an attack -- to, with the 'jihad mentality,' do damage to Western democracy. We need to stay very vigilant about that."
Post a Comment