The prosecutor later added that it was unclear whether Abaaoud had detonated a suicide belt. “Mr. Abaaoud had not been taken alive, the authorities said-and it was not clear whether one of the bodies was his”, the Times writes. It is a war which has been declared on us.
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Black smudges and faded traces of gunfire on a red brick rowhouse here in eastern Belgium mark the death foretold of Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
French experts are working to establish whether the suspected organiser of the Paris attacks was among those killed in a police raid on a flat on Wednesday.
Police were also investigating his link to a foiled attack on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris in August.
The authorities had been acting on information that the suspected mastermind of the attacks, “Abdelhamid Abaaoud ” http://www.euronews.com/2015/11/18/paris-attacks-who-is-abdelhamid-abaaoud/, might have been holed up in the apartment.
Telephone communications on a wiretap by French and Belgian security agencies indicated a woman at the third-floor apartment was Abaaoud’s cousin, a Belgian counterterrorism official told CNN.
The coordinated assaults killed 129 people and injured more than 350, a few of them critically.
Abaaoud had boasted of mounting attacks in Europe for Islamic State, and had appeared in propaganda videos for the jihadist group. The measure still has to be approved by the Senate.
If approved, the state of emergency would remain in place until Feb 25.
Carry out a search at anytime. Another unidentified suspect may also still be on the loose.
Paris police, meanwhile, announced that they were extending a ban on public demonstrations in the French capital and surrounding areas until Sunday. Authorities have been keen to prevent large gatherings of people amid fears of a new attack.
“Today, nothing can be excluded”, he told the French parliament.
“We are expecting more attacks against France, against Europe”. The suspect is described as “very unsafe”, the newspaper wrote.
Abdeslam was initially believed to have made it to Belgium after being arrested by French police near the border, but later released. “This new team was planning an attack on La Defense”, one source said, referring to a high-rise neighbourhood on the outskirts of Paris that is home to top banks and businesses. Abdeslam was described by Molins as a key operative in the attacks.
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France is one of several European countries participating in the U.S.-led coalition’s strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq, and two months ago became the only European country to join strikes in Syria as well. “We do not know at this stage whether Abaaoud blew himself up or not”, Mr Molins’ office said.
