He has been identified through a Syrian passport found at the scene that identifies him as a 25-year-old born in Idlib, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins’ office said in a statement. It said fingerprints from the attacker match those of someone who passed through Greece in October.
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He is now subject to an global manhunt.
– Suspected ringleader: Abdelhamid Abaaoud is believed by counterterrorism officials to be the likely link between the senior ISIS leadership and the militant group’s operatives in European countries.
In Alsdorf, Germany, two women and three men were arrested overnight after indications of involvement in the Paris attacks, said Iris Ruster, spokeswoman of Aachen, Germany, police.
He said Belgian authorities were also trying to keep an eye on Bilal Hadfi, one of the suicide bombers who struck outside the Stade de France, according to several sources.
Another Abdeslam brother, Ibrahim, reportedly blew himself up outside a cafe during a series of coordinated attacks throughout the city Friday night that killed at least 129 people and wounded hundreds more.
Amri’s lawyer has said he and the unnamed man drove to Paris to bring Salah Abdeslam, 26, back to Brussels early on Saturday.
About 104 people have been placed under house arrest while 23 have been held for questioning, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said, the Daily Mail United Kingdom reported.
A Belgian national now in Syria and believed to be one of Islamic State’s most active operators is suspected of being behind Friday’s attacks in Paris, according to a source close to the French investigation.
An unnamed official told the Associated Press that Abaaoud also was linked to the attempted attack on a train from Amsterdam to Paris in August that was stopped by passengers.
Abdelslam’s brother Mohamed had been arrested in Belgium on Saturday but was released on Monday without charge.
– Ismael Mostefai, 29, was identified as another attacker. Belgian police have released more pictures of the wanted man. But my brother who has participated in this terrorist attack was probably psychologically ready to commit such an act.
“Because we have to be able to look at where the perpetrators of these attacks in Paris came from and how to dismantle the existing networks”.
The mother of Paris suicide bomber Ibrahim Abdeslam – one of three Belgian brothers who are suspects in the attacks – is speaking out, saying she believed he “did not mean to kill anyone”.
Vocativ stated that Abaaoud fought for ISIS in Syria and uses the nickname Abu Umar al-Baljiki. A year ago, video emerged of him in Syria, smiling as he drove a truck dragging the dead bodies of Islamic State’s opponents tied to the bumper.
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He also revealed that the victims were of 19 different nationalities and suggested the country’s state of emergency could be extended for three months.
