Turkish security forces arrested 26-year-old Ahmad Dahmani, a Belgian man of Moroccan descent, at a luxury hotel in Antalya, along with two others also believed to be connected to ISIS.
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“There is a confidentiality order on the issue as the investigation is going on in collaboration with other European governments”, the official said.
According to preliminary reports, the other two accomplices, Ahmet Tahir, 29, and Mohammed Verd, 23, were to accompany Dahmani to ensure his safe arrival into Syria but were arrested in a auto along a highway crossing south Turkey.
Michel says that the threat level would be reassessed on Sunday. The private Dogan news agency said Dahmani is suspected of having explored areas in Paris that were attacked last week, and acted as a scout for the operation. “The Paris attacks happened and this incident is progressing in various directions…”
If people take the terror alert seriously, Brussels will be “shut down tomorrow”, CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said.
French President Francois Hollande said that the coordinated assault on France’s capital was planned in Belgium. Abaaoud was killed during a raid that shook the Saint-Denis neighborhood outside Paris and collapsed an entire floor of an apartment building.
Meanwhile Brussels was put on its highest alert level on Saturday as Belgian officials warned the public to avoid crowds because of a “serious and imminent” threat of an attack.
Cameron’s office said Saturday the two leaders will discuss how to cooperate in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
The Paris attacks have also further prompted reactions in Europe, where emergency measures were enacted Friday, which will see security checks “immediately” stepped up, tightening checks on points of entry to the 26-country Schengen area.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said all of the men were detained on suspicion of “aiding and abetting” the Islamic State group.
On Friday, the French Parliament extended the country’s state of emergency by three months, following last week’s terror attacks that left 130 people dead.
A police source told AFP that while the woman, identified as Hasna Aitboulahcen, did die, it was not as a result of detonating a suicide vest, and that the suicide bomber was in fact a man. He has yet to be identified.
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“The U.S. Embassy urges everyone to shelter in place and remain at home”, the statement said.
