Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 28-year-old Belgian of Moroccan descent, has fought along the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and has been on the run since police stormed a jihadist cell in eastern Belgium’s Verviers in January.
Advertisement
France’s response on Monday gained pace with counter-terrorism raids arrests across the country and “massive” airstrikes have been launched on ISIS targets in Syria, as the French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, warned of potential further attacks.
The announcement comes days after the Paris attacks, in which more than 130 people were killed in terrorist bombings and shootings.
Abdeslam, a French citizen originally from Belgium, had been stopped by officers hours after the attack driving toward the Belgian border, but he was not detained, according to the NY Times, because his papers appeared in order.
He said: “We don’t know for sure the reasons why it’s been called off, but we’ve assumed”. His current whereabouts remain unknown. The search for the suspect is ongoing.
Since the attacks, police have found three Kalashnikov assault rifles and ammunition inside a vehicle that was abandoned in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil. Two suspects were arrested in Belgium – Brussels native Hamza Attou, 21, and Mohamed Amri, 27, who was born in Morocco – and officials were hunting down Salah Abdeslam, 26, a French national born in Brussels suspected of being a gunman in the Paris attacks.
Rescuers and firefighters stand by near the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, early on November 14.
However, Belgian public broadcaster RTBF said he was not arrested.
The game was due to take place tonight, but it has now been postponed following the Paris terror attacks that left at least 129 people dead. Bilal Hadfi was one of the suicide bombers who struck outside the Stade de France, according to several sources. “We need everyone … there can’t be two coalitions in Syria”, he said.
Spanish football officials didn’t say there was a direct threat linked to the presence of Spain’s national team in Belgium. The attackers are believed to have operated in three teams. They can be considered amongst one of the toughest in Europe’.
Advertisement
Also yesterday, Ireland qualified for their second successive European championship finals by beating Bosnia 3-1 on aggregate following a 2-0 second-leg playoff win at the Aviva Stadium yesterday.
