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France Carries Out Sweeping Series of Raids and Arrests Police Raid Brussels Area in Search for Terror Suspect
(35 minutes later)
PARIS — French authorities announced on Monday that they had conducted 168 raids, arrested 23 people and placed another 104 under house arrest as part of a sweeping use of its emergency powers to prevent another terrorist attack and to uncover the plot behind the deadly assaults on Friday night. BRUSSELS — Heavily armed police officers wearing balaclavas descended on the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels on Monday in a manhunt for Salah Abdeslam, who is believed to have helped carry out the Paris terrorist attacks on Friday with his two brothers.
The Belgian authorities also started a series of raids in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels, as it became increasingly clear that many of the plotters had lived or worked there. Police in heavy armor cordoned off a street and began making door-to-door raids. Elsewhere in Brussels, a bomb squad a car parked near a European Commission building caused momentary alarm. “Salah has not been arrested, no one has been arrested, the operations are still ongoing,” Eric van der Sypt, a Belgian federal magistrate, said. “There is still an ongoing operation right now in Molenbeek.”
The raids in both countries were carried out as the authorities kept up a manhunt for Salah Abdeslam, 26, who is believed to have been a central figure in the attacks. Mr. van der Sypt also said that news accounts that the authorities had homed in on a possible planner of the attack —Abdelhamid Abaaoud, an Islamic State affiliate now fighting in Syria — were premature.
“Although there was widespread media about the supposed identity of jihadist Abdelhamid Abaaoud, I can’t confirm any of this, neither his name nor his implication in the attacks,” Mr. van der Syptsaid.”
Also on Monday, French authorities announced they had conducted sweeping police raids around the country overnight and detained 104 people.
Under a state of emergency declared on Friday by President François Hollande, the police are empowered to conduct raids without a search warrant, and Mr. Cazeneuve said 168 such raids had been launched in 19 French departments, including the Paris region and in Lille, Lyon, Toulouse and Marseille. The police arrested 23 people and confiscated 19 weapons, including 19 handguns, 8 long guns and 4 heavy weapons, along with computer hardware, mobile phones and narcotics.
In one home in the Rhône department, Mr. Cazeneuve said, police found a Kalashnikov assault rifle, three automatic pistols, ammunition and bulletproof vests. The police obtained a warrant to search the home of the parents of one suspect, where they found several automatic pistols, ammunition, police armbands, military clothing and a rocket-launcher.
Mr. Cazeneuve said that the investigation on the attacks in Paris was “making quick progress” but that the threat of terrorist attacks “remains high.” Six attacks on French territory have been foiled or avoided since the spring of this year, Mr. Cazeneuve said.
The raids in both countries were carried out as the authorities kept up a manhunt for Mr. Abdeslam, 26, who is believed to have been a central figure in the attacks, along with two brothers, Mohamed and Ibrahim. Salah Abdeslam was stopped by the French police early Saturday as he drove on a highway into Belgium, but he was let go when his papers appeared to be in order.
“We are using all the possibilities given to us by the state of emergency, that is to say administrative raids, 24 hours a day,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in an interview on RTL radio on Monday. He vowed to keep intense pressure on “radical Islamism, Salafist groups, all those who preach hatred of the Republic.”“We are using all the possibilities given to us by the state of emergency, that is to say administrative raids, 24 hours a day,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in an interview on RTL radio on Monday. He vowed to keep intense pressure on “radical Islamism, Salafist groups, all those who preach hatred of the Republic.”
The figures on the raids and arrests — which at one raid in the southeast Rhône region, around Lyon, uncovered a Kalashnikov rifle, bulletproof vests, police armbands and 3 automatic pistols — were revealed by Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve in a news conference.
The authorities also confirmed on Monday that one of the terrorists who struck Paris on Friday evening had entered Europe through Greece on a Syrian passport last month, providing new evidence that the attackers used the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants to further their plot.The authorities also confirmed on Monday that one of the terrorists who struck Paris on Friday evening had entered Europe through Greece on a Syrian passport last month, providing new evidence that the attackers used the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants to further their plot.
The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said in a statement that the man — identified on his passport as Ahmad al-Mohammad, 25, a native of Idlib, Syria — was one of the men who blew himself up outside the Stade de France on Friday night, where the French and German national soccer teams were playing, with President François Hollande in attendance. The passport was found at the scene.The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said in a statement that the man — identified on his passport as Ahmad al-Mohammad, 25, a native of Idlib, Syria — was one of the men who blew himself up outside the Stade de France on Friday night, where the French and German national soccer teams were playing, with President François Hollande in attendance. The passport was found at the scene.
Mr. Molins said the suicide bomber’s fingerprints were consistent with those recorded at a border check in Greece last month — but that additional verification was needed. The Greek authorities had said that the holder of the passport passed through the island of Leros on Oct. 3. It remains unclear if the passport was authentic. Mr. Molins said the suicide bomber’s fingerprints were consistent with those recorded at a border check in Greece last month — but that additional verification was needed. The Greek authorities had said that the holder of the passport passed through the island of Leros on Oct. 3, and the Serbian authorities say he passed through the border town of Presovo on Oct. 7, after entering from Macedonia. It remains unclear if the passport was authentic.
The nearly unchecked flow of migrants into Europe from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other countries had already provoked a political backlash before the Paris attacks, and word that one of the bombers embedded himself in the flow of people crossing the Continent with minimal security checks could create further pressure to close borders and be less welcoming to migrants.The nearly unchecked flow of migrants into Europe from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other countries had already provoked a political backlash before the Paris attacks, and word that one of the bombers embedded himself in the flow of people crossing the Continent with minimal security checks could create further pressure to close borders and be less welcoming to migrants.
Mr. Molins also identified another assailant, Samy Amimour, who blew himself up at the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people were killed on Friday. Mr. Amimour, 28, was born in Paris and lived in Drancy, a suburb of the city, the statement said.Mr. Molins also identified another assailant, Samy Amimour, who blew himself up at the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people were killed on Friday. Mr. Amimour, 28, was born in Paris and lived in Drancy, a suburb of the city, the statement said.
Mr. Molins said that Mr. Amimour was known to the French authorities, having been charged in October 2012 with criminal terrorist conspiracy, after a plan to leave for Yemen that was not carried out, the statement said. Mr. Amimour was placed under judicial supervision but violated the terms of that supervision in the fall of 2013, prompting the authorities to put out an international arrest warrant.Mr. Molins said that Mr. Amimour was known to the French authorities, having been charged in October 2012 with criminal terrorist conspiracy, after a plan to leave for Yemen that was not carried out, the statement said. Mr. Amimour was placed under judicial supervision but violated the terms of that supervision in the fall of 2013, prompting the authorities to put out an international arrest warrant.
Three members of Mr. Amimour’s family were arrested on Monday morning and are currently in police custody, the statement said.Three members of Mr. Amimour’s family were arrested on Monday morning and are currently in police custody, the statement said.
Despite an international manhunt, the police still have not found Salah Abdeslam, who they believe helped organize the attacks with two of his brothers, Mohamed and Ibrahim, residents Molenbeek. He was stopped by the police early Saturday but was let go when his papers appeared to be in order.
“We are at war against terrorism,” Mr. Valls said, warning that new attacks were possible in the coming weeks or days.“We are at war against terrorism,” Mr. Valls said, warning that new attacks were possible in the coming weeks or days.
Mr. Valls did not describe the raids or mention any arrests, but the French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, was scheduled to give a statement later on Monday morning.Mr. Valls did not describe the raids or mention any arrests, but the French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, was scheduled to give a statement later on Monday morning.
Mr. Hollande has blamed the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, for the attacks. On Sunday night and Monday morning, France unleashed a potent retaliatory strike against the group’s headquarters in Raqqa, Syria. The French Defense Ministry said its warplanes had dropped at least 20 bombs on a series of Islamic State targets, including an ammunitions depot and a training camp.Mr. Hollande has blamed the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, for the attacks. On Sunday night and Monday morning, France unleashed a potent retaliatory strike against the group’s headquarters in Raqqa, Syria. The French Defense Ministry said its warplanes had dropped at least 20 bombs on a series of Islamic State targets, including an ammunitions depot and a training camp.
“This attack was organized, planned and conceived from Syria,” Mr. Valls told RTL radio.“This attack was organized, planned and conceived from Syria,” Mr. Valls told RTL radio.
Mr. Valls also announced that the international climate conference in Paris, set to begin on Nov. 30, would go ahead as scheduled, but that many side events might be canceled.Mr. Valls also announced that the international climate conference in Paris, set to begin on Nov. 30, would go ahead as scheduled, but that many side events might be canceled.
“We are currently looking into it, but anything that was exterior to the COP, a whole range of concerts and of rather festive events will no doubt be canceled,” Mr. Valls said, referring to the Conference of Parties, the body of countries overseeing the climate negotiations.“We are currently looking into it, but anything that was exterior to the COP, a whole range of concerts and of rather festive events will no doubt be canceled,” Mr. Valls said, referring to the Conference of Parties, the body of countries overseeing the climate negotiations.