He is believed to have traveled to Syria in the winter of 2013.
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Authorities were scouring Europe on Sunday for at least one other suspect, and possibly two, who were “directly involved” in Friday night’s attacks in Paris, as investigators tried to ascertain whether they were among a number of people arrested over the last 48 hours in Belgium, according to two French officials familiar with the case.
It was previously announced that police made several arrests when they carried out raids Saturday in the poor immigrant Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek, which has been linked to past terror plots. Coming after several months in which movements of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia have prompted a few European Union states to suspend elements of the bloc’s open-border system, the spokesman stressed Belgium was not closing its frontiers but would step up spot checks on travellers arriving from France. Michel said it would work in close cooperation with the French inquiries. A judicial source said one of the two was a brother of Abdeslam.
Interior Minister Jan Jambon pledged to “personally take care” of Molenbeek.
Such a connection, if proven, would be particularly sensitive because if a killer did enter Europe among refugees and migrants fleeing war-torn countries, this could change the political debate about accepting refugees.
However, experts say it is possible passports could have been faked or stolen.
“It can be that a terrorist was infiltrated there (through the refugee route)”.
Others suggest the passport may be fake.
He added that the attackers used “war-type weapons” including Kalashnikov rifles and identical explosive devices that used “TATP”, a type of volatile explosive.
The federal prosecutor’s office said its counterparts in Paris had asked for help after a vehicle with Belgian license plates and rented in Belgium was found near a concert hall where scores of people were killed on Friday night.
Analysis of the Montenegro man’s auto navigation system found he drove from Montenegro via Croatia, Slovenia and Austria to Germany, aiming to reach France.
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“We have a series of European partners that have completely different policies, be it on terrorists or organised crime”, he said.
