Abdeslam was arrested Friday in the Molenbeek area of Brussels, not far from where he grew up.
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March 24: Arrested Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam’s lawyer, Sven Mary, has said that the former is no longer cooperating with the Belgian Police and wants to be extradited to France as soon as possible.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Tuesday it was too early to tell whether there was a link between Abdeslam and Tuesday’s attacks, though two senior US officials told CNN they believe the Brussels attack was carried out by the same terrorist network to which Abdeslam belonged.
The third suspected airport attacker has not been identified yet and is on the run.
The Latest on the suicide bombings this week in Brussels (all times local): 1:40 p.m. The global airport in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, has introduced new checks of passengers at the entrance to the terminal building as part of increased security following the attacks in Brussels.
Asked if Abdeslam had cooperated with the investigators following the triple bomb attack in Brussels, Mary said: “No”.
The media, citing unnamed sources, said today that the suspect was filmed by surveillance cameras in the Brussels metro on Tuesday carrying a large bag alongside Khalid El Bakraoui, whom prosecutors have identified as a suicide bomber.
Investigators believe the cell accelerated the Brussels plan when Belgian police raided the Forest apartment on March 15 and discovered that it had been Abdeslam’s hideout.
Abdeslam was captured in a special operation in Brussels last week. He was shot in the leg during the arrest.
The Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement that Abdeslam appeared at a hearing Thursday with a suspected accomplice and the court adjourned the proceedings.
Then came the attack in Brussels.
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He added: “The most important part of the file is in France”. Any other driver in my place would have done the same thing.
