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| Two Paris Attackers Planned Another Assault, Prosecutor Says | Two Paris Attackers Planned Another Assault, Prosecutor Says |
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| PARIS — Two men who took part in the Paris terrorist attacks, and who died in a police raid days later, appear to have been planning a final assault, aimed at La Défense, the business district west of Paris, the prosecutor investigating the attacks said on Tuesday. | PARIS — Two men who took part in the Paris terrorist attacks, and who died in a police raid days later, appear to have been planning a final assault, aimed at La Défense, the business district west of Paris, the prosecutor investigating the attacks said on Tuesday. |
| Three people died in the raid last Wednesday on an apartment in the northern Paris suburb of St.-Denis: Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 28, a Belgian militant who had fought for the Islamic State; his cousin Hasna Aitboulahcen, 26; and a man whose identity remains unknown to the authorities. | Three people died in the raid last Wednesday on an apartment in the northern Paris suburb of St.-Denis: Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 28, a Belgian militant who had fought for the Islamic State; his cousin Hasna Aitboulahcen, 26; and a man whose identity remains unknown to the authorities. |
| “Evidence that I cannot and will not be more specific about, and that only emerged on Nov. 19, suggest that the two terrorists, Abaaoud and the man found at his side in the apartment, had a plan that involved blowing themselves up on Wednesday the 18th or Thursday the 19th at La Défense,” the Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said at a news conference at the Palais de Justice here, suggesting that the raid had occurred just in time. | “Evidence that I cannot and will not be more specific about, and that only emerged on Nov. 19, suggest that the two terrorists, Abaaoud and the man found at his side in the apartment, had a plan that involved blowing themselves up on Wednesday the 18th or Thursday the 19th at La Défense,” the Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said at a news conference at the Palais de Justice here, suggesting that the raid had occurred just in time. |
| “In the debris, a 9-millimeter Browning automatic pistol and its empty cartridge clip were found, as well as grenade shrapnel and two explosive vests,” Mr. Molins said. | |
| He said that Ms. Aitboulahcen knowingly intervened after the attacks to help shelter her cousin. Ms. Aitboulahcen was originally thought to have died by setting off a suicide vest — which caused the floor of the apartment to give way — but the authorities now say it was the other man in the apartment who was the “kamikaze,” or suicide bomber. | He said that Ms. Aitboulahcen knowingly intervened after the attacks to help shelter her cousin. Ms. Aitboulahcen was originally thought to have died by setting off a suicide vest — which caused the floor of the apartment to give way — but the authorities now say it was the other man in the apartment who was the “kamikaze,” or suicide bomber. |
| “Different elements from the investigations enable us to show that Hasna Aitboulahcen was perfectly aware of her cousin’s involvement in the Nov. 13 attacks, and that therefore she knowingly intervened to facilitate his retreat and flight,” Mr. Molins said. “After the assault, Hasna Aitboulahcen was found dead by asphyxia, most probably following the explosion of the first kamikaze and the ensuing collapse of the floor.” | “Different elements from the investigations enable us to show that Hasna Aitboulahcen was perfectly aware of her cousin’s involvement in the Nov. 13 attacks, and that therefore she knowingly intervened to facilitate his retreat and flight,” Mr. Molins said. “After the assault, Hasna Aitboulahcen was found dead by asphyxia, most probably following the explosion of the first kamikaze and the ensuing collapse of the floor.” |
| The third person who died in the raid might have participated in the series of attacks outside four restaurants in central Paris that killed at least 39 people. | The third person who died in the raid might have participated in the series of attacks outside four restaurants in central Paris that killed at least 39 people. |
| DNA from that man — whose identity remains unknown — matched DNA that was found on a Kalashnikov assault rifle that was left in a black Seat Léon used by the restaurant attackers, who left the car in the eastern suburb of Montreuil, Mr. Molins said. | DNA from that man — whose identity remains unknown — matched DNA that was found on a Kalashnikov assault rifle that was left in a black Seat Léon used by the restaurant attackers, who left the car in the eastern suburb of Montreuil, Mr. Molins said. |
| Also on Tuesday, the authorities announced that they were charging Jawad Bendaoud, who they said provided the St.-Denis apartment to Mr. Abaaoud and his accomplice, with participating in a terrorist plot and with illegal possession of weapons and explosives. | Also on Tuesday, the authorities announced that they were charging Jawad Bendaoud, who they said provided the St.-Denis apartment to Mr. Abaaoud and his accomplice, with participating in a terrorist plot and with illegal possession of weapons and explosives. |
| The authorities in France are trying to learn more about the identities of four men who they say took part in the attacks: the man who died with Mr. Abaaoud in the raid in St.-Denis; a man who joined in the attack on the Bataclan concert hall that killed 89 people; and two men who entered Europe via Greece in October — evidently by presenting themselves as Syrian migrants — and then blew themselves up outside the Stade de France during a soccer game that President François Hollande of France was attending. | The authorities in France are trying to learn more about the identities of four men who they say took part in the attacks: the man who died with Mr. Abaaoud in the raid in St.-Denis; a man who joined in the attack on the Bataclan concert hall that killed 89 people; and two men who entered Europe via Greece in October — evidently by presenting themselves as Syrian migrants — and then blew themselves up outside the Stade de France during a soccer game that President François Hollande of France was attending. |
| All four men are dead; none have been publicly identified. | |
| The one known fugitive of the attacks, Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French citizen who lived in Brussels, remained at large on Tuesday, despite an intense manhunt that has stretched across France, Belgium and Germany. | The one known fugitive of the attacks, Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French citizen who lived in Brussels, remained at large on Tuesday, despite an intense manhunt that has stretched across France, Belgium and Germany. |
| Mr. Abdeslam fled after the attacks, and at 9:10 a.m. on the day after was waved through a traffic check in Cambrai, near the border with Belgium, while in a Volkswagen Golf with two other men. | Mr. Abdeslam fled after the attacks, and at 9:10 a.m. on the day after was waved through a traffic check in Cambrai, near the border with Belgium, while in a Volkswagen Golf with two other men. |
| The Belgian authorities have charged those two men — Mohammed Amri, who owned the Volkswagen Golf, and Hamza Attou, a friend — with murder and with participation in the activities of a terrorist group. | The Belgian authorities have charged those two men — Mohammed Amri, who owned the Volkswagen Golf, and Hamza Attou, a friend — with murder and with participation in the activities of a terrorist group. |
| The federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels announced on Tuesday that a third man — identified only as Ali O., a 31-year-old Frenchman who was living, like Mr. Abaaoud and Mr. Abdeslam, in the Molenbeek borough of Brussels — has been charged with murder and with terrorist activities, for helping Mr. Abdeslam get away. A court hearing is scheduled for Friday to determine whether Ali O. will remain in custody. | The federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels announced on Tuesday that a third man — identified only as Ali O., a 31-year-old Frenchman who was living, like Mr. Abaaoud and Mr. Abdeslam, in the Molenbeek borough of Brussels — has been charged with murder and with terrorist activities, for helping Mr. Abdeslam get away. A court hearing is scheduled for Friday to determine whether Ali O. will remain in custody. |
| Another man accused of helping Mr. Abdeslam flee — Abraimi Lazez, 39, a Moroccan living in Molenbeek who was arrested on Sunday — faces a court hearing on Wednesday. Belgian prosecutors say that two pistols and traces of blood were found inside his car; Mr. Lazez, through his lawyer, has denied knowing Mr. Abdeslam or Mr. Abaaoud. | Another man accused of helping Mr. Abdeslam flee — Abraimi Lazez, 39, a Moroccan living in Molenbeek who was arrested on Sunday — faces a court hearing on Wednesday. Belgian prosecutors say that two pistols and traces of blood were found inside his car; Mr. Lazez, through his lawyer, has denied knowing Mr. Abdeslam or Mr. Abaaoud. |
| An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for Mohamed Abrini, 30, who officials said was recorded on a video camera with Mr. Abdeslam in a gas station northeast of Paris on the evening of Nov. 11, two days before the attacks. The two men were driving a Renault Clio that apparently was used later to drop off the suicide bombers at the soccer stadium. | An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for Mohamed Abrini, 30, who officials said was recorded on a video camera with Mr. Abdeslam in a gas station northeast of Paris on the evening of Nov. 11, two days before the attacks. The two men were driving a Renault Clio that apparently was used later to drop off the suicide bombers at the soccer stadium. |
| Under a state of emergency that has been extended for three months, the French continued to conduct searches and arrest suspects around the country on Tuesday. The Interior Ministry said that since the Nov. 13 attacks, the police had conducted 1,233 raids, arresting 165 people and holding 142 of them; placed 266 people under house arrest; and seized 230 weapons. | Under a state of emergency that has been extended for three months, the French continued to conduct searches and arrest suspects around the country on Tuesday. The Interior Ministry said that since the Nov. 13 attacks, the police had conducted 1,233 raids, arresting 165 people and holding 142 of them; placed 266 people under house arrest; and seized 230 weapons. |
| One of the raids on Tuesday targeted a radical Salafist preacher living in southwestern France who is thought to have been a mentor of Mohammed Merah, who killed seven people, including four Jewish children, in southwestern France in 2012, and Fabien Clain, believed to have recorded an audio message claiming responsibility for the Nov. 13 attacks for the Islamic State. | |
| Prime Minister Manuel Valls, at a lunch with reporters, said that “people will say Europe is finished” if it cannot set up a security apparatus that he said should include better border controls, a crackdown on weapons trafficking and a shared database on air travelers. | Prime Minister Manuel Valls, at a lunch with reporters, said that “people will say Europe is finished” if it cannot set up a security apparatus that he said should include better border controls, a crackdown on weapons trafficking and a shared database on air travelers. |