The 26 year old terrorist was was two other men and one of them may be dead. Salah Abdeslam believes he played a key role in the Paris Attacks, thus he's been on the run for 126 days! It's gathered that about one hour after his arrest, fresh gunshots were heard and operations are continuing tonight.
Below is a detailed report of how it all went down..
It is understood grenades were used in the operation, which unfolded at about 4.30pm.
Gun shots and explosions were heard while white smoke was seen in the area as police moved in on Abdeslam, who had been on the run for 126 days.
Emergency services were quick to arrive at the scene, which was closed off by officers wearing heavy riot gear. A Belgium police source confirmed that he had been ‘caught alive’.
Abdeslam was wounded, and then retreated into a house in Molenbeek with two men. At least one of the other men is wounded, and one may be dead, said the source.
It is thought that he suffered a 'flesh wound' after escaping the raid before retreating to Molenbeek, where he was born and brought up and being shot by officers this afternoon. He has been taken to hospital.
A French television station later posted an image of the moment the terror suspect was arrested.
A lawyer for the families of those who lost their lives in the Paris massacre have demanded that he is extradited to France immediately.
The prime minister of Belgium, Charles Michel, was seen rushing out of a European Council summit in Brussels as news of the raid broke.
EU leaders are meeting in the Belgian capital, just five miles away from where the anti-terror operation was taking place in Molenbeek.
Francois Hollande, who is in Brussels for the EU summit, confirmed that today's police operation was linked to last November's attacks on Paris.
Despite Abdeslam's arrest, the police operation was continuing this evening and the army is on the scene.
Two men are still believed to be holed up in a building in the area and drones are being used as part of the police operation. Fire engines and ambulances were seen driving into the gated complex, which remains under armed police guard, and a helicopter hovered overhead.
The building is owned by the local municipality. The flat where he was arrested is believed to have been rented by the same person since 2009, according to RTBF.
This afternoon, the White House revealed that the US had been helping French and Belgian authorities to boost security since November's Paris attacks, and that this would continue.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said: 'The United States obviously has significant resources and significant capabilities, and we have used them to assist the French and the Belgians as they have conducted investigations into the attacks and as they have taken steps to try to safeguard their country. We're going to continue to stay in close touch with them on this.'
Salah's brother Brahim, who died in the November Paris attacks which left 130 people dead, was buried Thursday in a Brussels cemetery.
Referring to the police operation earlier this week, in which one Islamic gunman was shot dead by a police sniper, Belgian public broadcaster RTBF had said this morning: 'According to our information, it is more than likely that he is one of the two individuals who escaped during the shootout.'
It was not the first time Abdeslam had evaded police.
It is believed he stayed in Schaerbeek, Belgium, for some weeks following the attacks in the French capital before being tracked down by police today.
Eric Van der Sypt said the fugitive may have been at the property for 'days, weeks or months'.
Surveillance footage at a petrol station showed him returning by car to Belgium a day after the Paris attacks.
He also avoided capture when French police checked his papers shortly before he was listed as wanted. Authorities had been searching for him ever since.
Abdeslam was thought to have been the logistic coordinator who rented cars and equipped the gunmen and suicide bombers who targeted bars, restaurants and a music hall in Paris and may have taken part himself.
Last month a source close to the French inquiry said no DNA from Abdeslam had been found on a suicide belt discovered in the French capital.
The explosive belt was found in a dustbin in the southern Parisian suburb of Montrouge on November 23.
Telephone data placed Abdeslam in the same area just after the attacks - but the lack of DNA on the belt suggested that he had not worn it.
Since mid-November, 11 people have been arrested and charged in Belgium in connection with the killings, with eight remaining in custody.
In addition to Abdeslam, the whereabouts of two Paris attack suspects remains unknown, including fellow Molenbeek resident Mohamed Abrini and a man known under the alias of Soufiane Kayal.
Abdeslam was thought to have been the logistic coordinator who rented cars and equipped the gunmen and suicide bombers who targeted bars, restaurants and a music hall in Paris and may have taken part himself.
Last month a source close to the French inquiry said no DNA from Abdeslam had been found on a suicide belt discovered in the French capital.
The explosive belt was found in a dustbin in the southern Parisian suburb of Montrouge on November 23.
Telephone data placed Abdeslam in the same area just after the attacks - but the lack of DNA on the belt suggested that he had not worn it.
Since mid-November, 11 people have been arrested and charged in Belgium in connection with the killings, with eight remaining in custody.
In addition to Abdeslam, the whereabouts of two Paris attack suspects remains unknown, including fellow Molenbeek resident Mohamed Abrini and a man known under the alias of Soufiane Kayal.
He was described as being the logistics manager and also organised hotels, flats and ammunition.
On the night if the attacks, he was caught on CCTV outside a cafe that was targeted.
His brother Brahim blew himself up outside the Comptoir Voltaire brasserie in the 11th arrondissement
Later, officers pulled over Abdelsam on Saturday morning on the A2 motorway between Paris and Brussels but checked his ID and let him go.
He was travelling with two other people, just hours after he abandoned a car containing three Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles on the outskirts of the French capital.
Detectives soon realised their blunder when they discovered that Abdeslam had rented VW Polo abandoned near the scene of the massacre inside the Bataclan theatre.
However, by the time they alerted Belgian authorities the terror suspect had abandoned the car in Molenbeek, Brussels, an area known as the 'jihadi capital of Europe' and disappeared.
An international manhunt was launched.
In the days after the attacks, Belgian security forces staged several raids in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, where he lived, which has served as a haven for several jihadists in recent decades.
But there was no sign of him and he remained on the run for over four months.
It is believed he stayed in Schaerbeek, Belgium, for some weeks following the attacks in the French capital before being tracked down by police today
Eric Van der Sypt said the fugitive may have been at the property for 'days, weeks or months'.
Surveillance footage at a petrol station showed him returning by car to Belgium a day after the Paris attacks.
He also avoided capture when French police checked his papers shortly before he was listed as wanted. Authorities have been searching for him ever since.
See more photos after the cut...
Culled from Dailymail.
No comments:
Post a Comment