Belgian authorities say they’ve found a hideout visited by Paris-attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam.
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A man walks in the Rue Henri Berge in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels on Friday, Jan. 8, 2016.
In accordance with De Standaard, researchers consider the fingerprint suggests the flat was used by Abdeslam following the strikes as a safe house, given signals the apartment had been somewhat cleaned up, although they have no idea how long he remained there. The note, which included a handdrawn flag of the Islamic State group (IS), gave a different name which Molins did not reveal. He has been at large since he asked friends for a ride from Paris to Brussels after the massacre.
Two of the arrestees drove Abdeslam to Brussels hours after the attacks to pick him up, while another later drove him to Shaerbeek from another part of Brussels. As for when Abdeslam was there, it’s unclear.
Many of those detained in Belgium are suspected of having links to Abdeslam- who is a brother of one of the dead attackers.
Abdeslam, 26, one of the most wanted men in Europe since the attacks, was able to return to Belgium after the Paris attacks and pass three police controls along the way. The similarity of the vest to those worn by seven suicide bombers in the attacks led French investigators to believe Mr. Abdeslam had aborted the suicide mission before fleeing France.
Belgian authorities have since arrested 10 people in connection with their investigation, and temporarily detained numerous others for questioning.
Confirming a report by a Belgian newspaper, investigators said they discovered material that could be used to make explosives, chemicals used in bomb making and handmade belts used for suicide missions.
It said police also found material that could be used to make explosives as well as traces of the highly volatile explosive TATP.
He said plastic bottles cut in half and containing an unknown substance were also found and seized, and were being tested by forensic specialists. A French national born in Brussels, he is believed to have been driven by friends across the border into Brussels following the attacks in the French capital.
There was no sign of police activity on Thursday at the apartment block in the quiet Schaerbeek area, AFP journalists said.
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He was also carrying a phone with a German SIM card, Molins said. Their theory is that somebody drove him there, and dropped him not far from that Schaerbeek address, right after the Paris attacks. “Maybe he went there to get his belt, and maybe he went back afterwards”.
