“The Investigating Judge has issued an European and worldwide arrest warrant against Mohamed Abrini”.
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The Belgian Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had arrested Amri Mohammed and Attou Hamza, who investigators say gave Abdeslam a ride back to Belgium the morning after the attacks in a Volkswagen Golf. Abrini was seen driving the Renault Clio used by the attackers.
Belgium’s crisis centre said the alert level would only change if a significant breakthrough warranted it.
Also on Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande met US President Barack Obama in Washington where the two leaders re-iterated their commitment to eradicating the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, which said it carried out the Paris attacks.
Pierre Suu/Getty Images The landlord admitted housing two people from Belgium after the attack, but said he didn’t know who they were or what they planned.
Frenchman Jawad Bendaoud, who provided lodging for Abaaoud and his associates at the apartment, is now under investigation but claims he did not no why he had been asked to accommodate two people for three days.
Hasna Aitboulahcen, the ringleader’s cousin, was “very aware” of Abaaoud’s role in the Paris attacks, the prosecutor said.
French police said they were analyzing a suspected suicide belt similar to those used in the Paris attacks, found without its detonator in a dustbin in a Paris suburb.
The reopening of schools and some subway stations restored a sense of normality to Brussels, parts of which have been deserted for days.
Belgian prime minister Charles Michel said Brussels faced a “serious and imminent” threat that requires keeping the city at the highest alert level.
Belgian authorities already have five suspects in prison facing terrorism charges related to the Paris attacks.
The security alert level for Brussels was lowered Thursday after six days at the maximum level after the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, local media reported.
“The idea of having such a place in school when attack happens is a good one”, said Emir Kir, the mayor of the Saint Josse district.
The suspect remains at large.
Nervousness could have played a role in concocting a defective vest, but he said he doubted fear played a role, for among Islamic State followers “it is rare not to go to the end”.
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They admit to driving from Brussels to Paris to fetch Abdeslam hours after Abdeslam’s brother had blown himself up during the attacks.
