The official cited chatter from IS figures that Abaaoud had recommended a concert as an ideal target for inflicting maximum casualties, as well as electronic communications between Abaaoud and one of the Paris attackers who blew himself up.
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Soldiers patrol in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, November 16, 2015, as security in creases in the French capital after last Friday’s series of deadly attacks.
He vowed that France will intensify its operations against the Islamic State militants in Syria who have claimed responsibility for Friday’s carnage.
Greek authorities say that attacker arrived in Europe on a migrant boat last month.
French warplanes carried out a new round of airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria’s Raqqa region on Tuesday, defence officials said.
Additional security spending would be needed and France would not let European Union budget rules to get in the way, Hollande said. “We must destroy this organization”.
“France is at war”, Hollande told parliamentarians.
Hollande also asked the country’s parliament to extend the state of emergency for a three-month period and announced plans for 5,000 new police and military posts to be created in the next two years.
President Obama says the battle against ISIS will take time. And also rare for France, Hollande’s address ended with the entire Congress standing solemnly and singing the French national anthem “Le Marseillaise”.
French police, prosecutors and journalists have unveiled details about the men accused of carrying out rapid-fire attacks across Paris on Friday.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the RTL radio network that he believed further attacks in France were nearly inevitable.
“They have weapons”, the caption reads, adding: “Screw them, we have champagne”. “I am not saying this to scare people but so that everybody is aware”. France had requested the warrant in 2012, after Amimour slipped out of sight of police, violating a judicial travel restriction because he was suspected of jihadist involvement.
In Belgium, the pair were charged “with a terrorist act and participation in the activities of a terrorist group”, while five others held at the weekend were freed without charge, the federal prosecutor’s office said.
An attacker at the Bataclan concert hall was identified as Paris-born Samy Amimour, 28. The arrest warrant for 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam – brother of bomber Brahim – describes him as very risky and warns people not to intervene if they see him.
An alleged plot to attack Belgian police in January, which was broken up by raids in which two men were killed in the eastern town of Verviers, also had connections to Molenbeek.
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But until recently, France had been reluctant to participate in the campaign on the Syrian side of the border and had been skeptical about the U.S.-led strategy.
