This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/world/europe/paris-attacks-fingerprint-brussels.html
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Fingerprint of Fugitive in Paris Attacks Is Found in Brussels Apartment | Fingerprint of Fugitive in Paris Attacks Is Found in Brussels Apartment |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| PARIS — Belgian investigators searching a Brussels apartment have found the fingerprint of a fugitive wanted in connection with the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, as well as material that might have been used to assemble suicide belts and traces of an explosive used in the assaults, officials announced on Friday. | |
| The apartment, on the third floor of a house on Rue Henri Bergé in the Schaerbeek section of Brussels, was searched on Dec. 10, the federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels said in a statement. The office did not explain the delay in disclosing the outcome, though there have been reports about the search in the Belgian news media in recent days. | The apartment, on the third floor of a house on Rue Henri Bergé in the Schaerbeek section of Brussels, was searched on Dec. 10, the federal prosecutor’s office in Brussels said in a statement. The office did not explain the delay in disclosing the outcome, though there have been reports about the search in the Belgian news media in recent days. |
| The fingerprint matched that of Salah Abdeslam — the only person suspected of being a direct participant in the attacks who is still at large. | The fingerprint matched that of Salah Abdeslam — the only person suspected of being a direct participant in the attacks who is still at large. |
| “This apartment was rented under a false identity that might have been used by a person already in custody in this case,” the prosecutor’s office said. Nine people are currently being detained by Belgian police in connection with the Paris attacks, and one other person has been granted conditional release. | “This apartment was rented under a false identity that might have been used by a person already in custody in this case,” the prosecutor’s office said. Nine people are currently being detained by Belgian police in connection with the Paris attacks, and one other person has been granted conditional release. |
| Investigators searching the apartment found three handmade belts “that might be used to transport explosives,” as well as traces of TATP, the material that was used to make the suicide vests used in the November attacks. | Investigators searching the apartment found three handmade belts “that might be used to transport explosives,” as well as traces of TATP, the material that was used to make the suicide vests used in the November attacks. |
| Marouane Bouarfa, who lives a few doors from the building where the fingerprint was found, said news of a terrorist safe house on the block came as a shock. | Marouane Bouarfa, who lives a few doors from the building where the fingerprint was found, said news of a terrorist safe house on the block came as a shock. |
| “A complete surprise,” Mr. Bouarfa said. “I’ve lived here for 17 years and I have never had a problem.” He said neighbors did not recall seeing anything unusual. “No one knew anything,” he said. | “A complete surprise,” Mr. Bouarfa said. “I’ve lived here for 17 years and I have never had a problem.” He said neighbors did not recall seeing anything unusual. “No one knew anything,” he said. |
| Mr. Abdeslam is suspected of having driven three suicide bombers to the national soccer stadium in St.-Denis, north of Paris, one of three locations that was hit by a coordinated set of bombings and shootings that killed 130 people and wounded over 350 others on the night of Nov. 13. According to the authorities, he was then able to leave Paris, thanks to accomplices who drove him back to Belgium, where the police lost track of him. | Mr. Abdeslam is suspected of having driven three suicide bombers to the national soccer stadium in St.-Denis, north of Paris, one of three locations that was hit by a coordinated set of bombings and shootings that killed 130 people and wounded over 350 others on the night of Nov. 13. According to the authorities, he was then able to leave Paris, thanks to accomplices who drove him back to Belgium, where the police lost track of him. |
| Ali Oulkadi, one of the men in detention in Belgium, is suspected of having driven Mr. Abdeslam to Schaerbeek after Mr. Abdeslam’s return to Brussels. The prosecutor’s office declined to say whether Mr. Oulkadi had rented the apartment, and it said it was unclear whether the fingerprint belonging to Mr. Abdeslam dated from before or after the attacks. | Ali Oulkadi, one of the men in detention in Belgium, is suspected of having driven Mr. Abdeslam to Schaerbeek after Mr. Abdeslam’s return to Brussels. The prosecutor’s office declined to say whether Mr. Oulkadi had rented the apartment, and it said it was unclear whether the fingerprint belonging to Mr. Abdeslam dated from before or after the attacks. |
| The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said in an interview on the radio station France Inter on Friday morning that it was “obvious” that the attacks had been coordinated from abroad, by people in Syria but also by individuals “who pushed fanaticism and professionalism” to the point of coming to monitor the terrorist operations from France and Belgium, he said, mentioning Abdelhamid Abaaoud. | The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said in an interview on the radio station France Inter on Friday morning that it was “obvious” that the attacks had been coordinated from abroad, by people in Syria but also by individuals “who pushed fanaticism and professionalism” to the point of coming to monitor the terrorist operations from France and Belgium, he said, mentioning Abdelhamid Abaaoud. |
| Mr. Abaaoud, who died in a police raid on a hide-out in St.-Denis on Nov. 18, is believed to have helped organize the logistics of the attacks. | Mr. Abaaoud, who died in a police raid on a hide-out in St.-Denis on Nov. 18, is believed to have helped organize the logistics of the attacks. |
| Referring to a separate incident, Mr. Molins said in the interview that investigators were unsure about the identity of a man who was shot and killed by officers as he tried to attack a police station in Paris on Thursday. | Referring to a separate incident, Mr. Molins said in the interview that investigators were unsure about the identity of a man who was shot and killed by officers as he tried to attack a police station in Paris on Thursday. |
| Mr. Molins said that the man may have given a false identity in 2013 when he was stopped for theft by the police in the south of France, when he claimed to be Moroccan and to have been born in 1995. | Mr. Molins said that the man may have given a false identity in 2013 when he was stopped for theft by the police in the south of France, when he claimed to be Moroccan and to have been born in 1995. |
| Police officers found a piece of paper on the man’s body with the Muslim profession of faith, a drawing of the flag of the Islamic State and a pledge of allegiance to the extremist group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The paper also referred to the situation in Syria as justification for the man’s attack. | Police officers found a piece of paper on the man’s body with the Muslim profession of faith, a drawing of the flag of the Islamic State and a pledge of allegiance to the extremist group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The paper also referred to the situation in Syria as justification for the man’s attack. |
| But the note identified the man as Tunisian, not Moroccan, and used a different name than the one given in 2013, Mr. Molins said. A cellphone with a German SIM card was being analyzed by investigators, he added. | But the note identified the man as Tunisian, not Moroccan, and used a different name than the one given in 2013, Mr. Molins said. A cellphone with a German SIM card was being analyzed by investigators, he added. |
| Mr. Molins, who has been at the forefront of multiple terrorist investigations in France and who rarely speaks directly to the news media, said that 2015 had been an “extremely difficult” year but warned that 2016 would be no different. He said that the authorities were confronted with a “protean” terrorist threat involving not only highly organized and coordinated attacks but also isolated acts by individuals receptive to Islamic State propaganda. | Mr. Molins, who has been at the forefront of multiple terrorist investigations in France and who rarely speaks directly to the news media, said that 2015 had been an “extremely difficult” year but warned that 2016 would be no different. He said that the authorities were confronted with a “protean” terrorist threat involving not only highly organized and coordinated attacks but also isolated acts by individuals receptive to Islamic State propaganda. |
| “There is absolutely no reason to be optimistic, because we have a growing threat and a shape-shifting threat, which leads me to say that today ‘risk zero’ does not exist and might never exist,” Mr. Molins told France Inter. “It might be hard to hear, but it has to be known.” | “There is absolutely no reason to be optimistic, because we have a growing threat and a shape-shifting threat, which leads me to say that today ‘risk zero’ does not exist and might never exist,” Mr. Molins told France Inter. “It might be hard to hear, but it has to be known.” |