Eight people were arrested, but neither Abaaoud, the Belgian suspected of orchestrating the worst ever militant attack on French soil, nor Salah Abdeslam, suspected of taking part with his suicide-bomber brother Brahim, were among those held.
Advertisement
Authorities have identified one of the three killed in Wednesday’s raid in Saint-Denis as the suspected mastermind of the massacres on Friday, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. A young woman, initially identified as Abaaoud’s cousin, possibly blew herself up during the operation.
The decision by lawmakers Thursday means the state of emergency will be in place for three months from November 26.
Manuel Valls said the EU’s passport-free zone – under the Schengen agreement – would be “undermined” if Europe did not tighten security at its external borders. ‘There is also the risk from chemical or biological weapons’.
He called on France’s European Union partners to urgently adopt measures to share airline passenger information.
Russian Federation submitted a revised draft United Nations resolution on fighting the Islamic State group that France said could be partially included in its own Security Council measure following the Paris attacks. This is under a police directive issued to coincide with the state of emergency. “This is sad. When one is president of the republic, prime minister or member of the government, we must reassure the population”.
In an exclusive interview, he told AFP the Paris attacks showed the Islamic State group (IS) was morphing from a terrorist threat into a “structured organisation” like the IRA in Ireland or ETA in Spain during the 20th century.
Belgium has filed terror charges against a third suspect relating to the Paris attacks.
“What is new are the ways of operating; the ways of attacking and killing are evolving all the time”, the prime minister said.
Also Thursday, Belgian authorities launched six raids anti-terror raids aimed at apprehending the “entourage” of Bilal Hadfi, who detonated an explosives belt outside the Stade de France as France played Germany in a friendly soccer match Friday.
A country outside of Europe tipped off Paris on Monday that Abaaoud had been spotted in Greece, Cazeneuve said, but he did not say when exactly Abaaoud was believed to have been there.
ISIS, meanwhile, released a new video threatening NY, and specifically Times Square, although police said there was no “current and specific” threat.
Advertisement
News of Abaaoud’s death seemed to ease a few tension in a country deeply shocked by the attacks, though officials said the aftermath was far from over.
