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| Paris terror attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam arrested in Brussels – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 5.41pm GMT | |
| 17:41 | |
| The operation in Brussels happens to be taking place as the city hosts a major two-day European summit, which is being attended by EU leaders. | |
| Here’s the Belgian PM, Charles Michel, rushing out of that summit a little earlier as news of the raid filtered through (via the BBC’s Imelda Flattery): | |
| Belgian PM dashes from summit phone clamped to ear amid reports of shooting & police operation in brussels ... https://t.co/phJDdEpaqV | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.42pm GMT | |
| 5.38pm GMT | |
| 17:38 | |
| Charles Michel, the prime minister of Belgium, has tweeted this picture which he says shows him monitoring the Brussels police operations today with the French president, Francois Hollande: | |
| Suivi des opérations policières avec le Président de @fhollande Opvolging van de politie acties met Franse president pic.twitter.com/6QX5QAHVWw | |
| 5.29pm GMT | |
| 17:29 | |
| Here are some images from today’s raid, which involved heavily armed police: | |
| 5.23pm GMT | |
| 17:23 | |
| Angelique Chrisafis | |
| The Guardian’s Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, reports that the Belgian federal prosecutor, Eric Van der Sypt confirmed earlier that Abdeslam’s fingerprints were found at a flat that was raided in the Forest area of Brussels on Tuesday, where a shoot-out with police saw another gunman shot dead next to an Islamic State flag. | |
| He said it had not been established how old the fingerprints were, or how long Abdeslam spent in the apartment. | |
| Another crucial link has now also established between the Forest apartment and the Paris attacks. | |
| When French and Belgian police arrived to search the flat on Tuesday, they were met with gunfire from automatic weapons from behind the door. | |
| A police sniper shot one of the gunmen through a window, Mohamed Belkaïd, a 35-year-old Algerian living illegally in Belgium and known to police for a theft case in 2014. | |
| “Next to his body was a Kalashnikov, a book on Salafism and an Islamic State flag,” according to Thierry Werts, of the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office. | |
| The Belgian prosecutor’s office said Belkaïd was “more than likely” one of the key logistics operatives behind the Paris attacks, who had been sought by police under the false name of Samir Bouzid. | |
| Le Monde reported that investigators believe a man using the name Samir Bouzid had received the last text message sent by three of the Paris attackers before they staged a bloody gun attack on a rock gig at the Paris Bataclan concert hall on November 13. The message said, “We’ve left, we’re on the way.” | |
| Related: Two suspects still on run after Brussels anti-terror raid that killed one | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.45pm GMT | |
| 5.20pm GMT | |
| 17:20 | |
| Belgian Justice Minister confirms Abdeslam's capture | |
| There is confirmation now from the Belgian authorities of Abdeslam’s arrest, according to Reuters. | |
| BREAKING: Belgium Justice minister confirms capture of Paris suspect Abdeslam: "We got him." LIVE: https://t.co/bMMK5DpqCl | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.23pm GMT | |
| 5.13pm GMT | 5.13pm GMT |
| 17:13 | 17:13 |
| So who is Salah Abdeslam? He’s 26-year-old French national who grew up in Brussels, fled Paris for Belgium by car hours after the 13 November attacks which killed 130 people. He is believed to have played a key role in organising the attacks. | So who is Salah Abdeslam? He’s 26-year-old French national who grew up in Brussels, fled Paris for Belgium by car hours after the 13 November attacks which killed 130 people. He is believed to have played a key role in organising the attacks. |
| Police believe he played a key role in the logistics of the Paris attacks and escorted the three suicide bombers who blew themselves up at the Stade de France as part of the coordinated attacks. | Police believe he played a key role in the logistics of the Paris attacks and escorted the three suicide bombers who blew themselves up at the Stade de France as part of the coordinated attacks. |
| Investigators are also considering whether he planned to carry out his own suicide attack in the 18th arrondissement of the French capital, and perhaps backed out. His brother blew himself up and died at a Paris bar on Boulevard Voltaire during the attacks. | Investigators are also considering whether he planned to carry out his own suicide attack in the 18th arrondissement of the French capital, and perhaps backed out. His brother blew himself up and died at a Paris bar on Boulevard Voltaire during the attacks. |
| Abdeslam had called friends to drive to collect him in Paris hours after the attacks. While they were driving him back to Belgium, the car was briefly stopped at the French-Belgian border and Abdeslam’s ID was checked, but he was allowed to continue through to Belgium and has been on the run ever since, the focus of an international manhunt. | Abdeslam had called friends to drive to collect him in Paris hours after the attacks. While they were driving him back to Belgium, the car was briefly stopped at the French-Belgian border and Abdeslam’s ID was checked, but he was allowed to continue through to Belgium and has been on the run ever since, the focus of an international manhunt. |
| Abdeslam reportedly stayed holed up in an apartment in the Schaerbeek district in north Brussels for three weeks after the Paris attacks. | Abdeslam reportedly stayed holed up in an apartment in the Schaerbeek district in north Brussels for three weeks after the Paris attacks. |
| 5.08pm GMT | 5.08pm GMT |
| 17:08 | 17:08 |
| Opening summary | Opening summary |
| A major police operation is underway in the Molenbeek area of Brussels amid reports that they have finally caught up with one Europe’s most wanted men, Salah Abdeslam, a prime suspect in November’s terrorist attacks on Paris. | A major police operation is underway in the Molenbeek area of Brussels amid reports that they have finally caught up with one Europe’s most wanted men, Salah Abdeslam, a prime suspect in November’s terrorist attacks on Paris. |
| Abdeslam was wounded and arrested in a shootout in the city according to Belgian media reports, which said that two people had been arrested. | Abdeslam was wounded and arrested in a shootout in the city according to Belgian media reports, which said that two people had been arrested. |
| France’s President Francois Hollande said there was no confirmation of the detention of Salah Abdeslam, the 26-year-old French suspect from Brussels. | France’s President Francois Hollande said there was no confirmation of the detention of Salah Abdeslam, the 26-year-old French suspect from Brussels. |
| The police operation in Molenbeek was launched just as Belgian prosecutors confirmed that Abdeslam’s fingerints had been found in an apartment in the Forest district of Brussels that was raided by police on Tuesday. | |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.24pm GMT |