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Paris terror attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam arrested in Brussels – live
Paris terror attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam arrested in Brussels – live
(35 minutes later)
7.37pm GMT
19:37
François Hollande and the Belgium PM are now speaking to press on the latest updates – we will bring you quotes from the conference shortly
7.33pm GMT
19:33
The Prime Minister of Belgium has posted on Twitter saying US President Barack Obama has sent his ‘congratulations’:
Congratulations from @POTUS Belgium and France stand united in the fight against terrorism @fhollande @Elysee pic.twitter.com/Ktz8RfUoqV
7.26pm GMT
19:26
Brett McGurk, the U.S envoy for the global coalition to counter Isis has tweeted:
Congratulations to #Belgium authorities on capture of #ISIL terrorist Saleh #Abdeslam. We will never forget his and all ISIL victims. #Paris
7.22pm GMT
19:22
As we wait for the press conference, you can catch up with today’s developments in our news story here:
Related: Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam shot and arrested in Brussels
7.19pm GMT
19:19
Our graphics team have a put together a map and timeline detailing the manhunt for Salah Abdeslam:
7.11pm GMT
19:11
Ashley Cowburn here taking over the liveblog from Ben Quinn
6.44pm GMT
6.44pm GMT
18:44
18:44
Third suspect captured in raid – reports
Third suspect captured in raid – reports
Belgian media is reporting that a third person has been arrested in the raid in Molenbeek. This follows reports that a second man was captured at the same time as Abdeslam.
Belgian media is reporting that a third person has been arrested in the raid in Molenbeek. This follows reports that a second man was captured at the same time as Abdeslam.
Updated
Updated
at 7.00pm GMT
at 7.00pm GMT
6.31pm GMT
6.31pm GMT
18:31
18:31
Some footage is now emerging which is said to show the moment armed police arrested Salah Abdeslam
Some footage is now emerging which is said to show the moment armed police arrested Salah Abdeslam.
Footage emerging said to show arrest of Salah Abdeslam in Brussels. Updates at @guardian : https://t.co/vqNoxlTmVy pic.twitter.com/xBjzQQi6qo
Footage emerging said to show arrest of Salah Abdeslam in Brussels. Updates at @guardian : https://t.co/vqNoxlTmVy pic.twitter.com/xBjzQQi6qo
Following on from those explosions, reports from the scene suggest that police remain calm. It’s believe that they were more likely to be as a result of the scene being secured.
Following on from those explosions, reports from the scene suggest that police remain calm. It’s believe that they were more likely to be as a result of the scene being secured.
Updated
at 7.08pm GMT
6.26pm GMT
6.26pm GMT
18:26
18:26
Salah Abdeslam was shot in the leg in the course of his detention by police, according to Ahmed El Khannouss, the deputy mayor of the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek.
Salah Abdeslam was shot in the leg in the course of his detention by police, according to Ahmed El Khannouss, the deputy mayor of the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek.
He said that police were still searching for another suspect who was believed to be in a house situated a few dozen yards from two schools.
He said that police were still searching for another suspect who was believed to be in a house situated a few dozen yards from two schools.
Helmeted police with riot shields have cordoned off the area.
Helmeted police with riot shields have cordoned off the area.
6.21pm GMT
6.21pm GMT
18:21
18:21
Explosions reported at scene
Explosions reported at scene
Journalists in the Molenbeek area are reporting hearing explosions. It’s not clear if they are the result of police follow-up operations to detonate suspect devices, or something else:
Journalists in the Molenbeek area are reporting hearing explosions. It’s not clear if they are the result of police follow-up operations to detonate suspect devices, or something else:
According to CNN, two explosions heard in molenbeek. "It did shake the air. Really strong," reporter said. #Brussels
According to CNN, two explosions heard in molenbeek. "It did shake the air. Really strong," reporter said. #Brussels
BREAKING: Two explosions heard in Molenbeen district of Brussels: media
BREAKING: Two explosions heard in Molenbeen district of Brussels: media
6.09pm GMT
18:09
The flat where Salah Abdeslam was detained had been occupied at one point by the mother of a friend, according to local reports (tweeted here by Brussels-based communications executive Dannis Abbott)
Flat where #SalahAbdeslam caught 'occupied by mother of one of his friends'. Operation still underway in #Molenbeek https://t.co/X0gRWO3odm
6.04pm GMT
18:04
That “We got him” quote from the Belgian authorities confirming the arrest of Abdeslam, is now being attributed to Belgium’s Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Theo Francken.
It didn’t come from the mouth of the Justice Minister (as reported earlier).
Either way, it brings back memories of Paul Bremer, who was the US head of the Coalition Provisional Authority which ruled Iraq in the occupation’s early days, using the same quote to announce the capture of Saddam Hussein.
5.58pm GMT
17:58
Lydia Berkennou, one of the survivors of the attack on the Bataclan concert hall, has been speaking to Sky News in the last few minutes about the arrest of Abdeslam.
She was asked if she felt that a blow had now been struck back against the perpetrators of the attack on the concern hall where 89 people were killed in November:
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 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 6.33pm GMT
5.13pm GMT
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.
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.
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.
5.08pm GMT
17:08
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.
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.
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.
