Two more terrorists — a Frenchman previously charged with planning a terror attack and a suicide bomber found with a Syrian passport — involved in the Paris attacks were identified on Monday. Five of seven known attackers have been identified so far, but it is unclear if other gunmen involved fled after the attacks which are believed to have been carried out by three teams.
As France and Belgium staged dozens of raids on suspected extremists, French warplanes pounded ISIS’ de facto Syrian capital Raqa, destroying a command post and a training camp.
Police released the photo of 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam, one of the three brothers linked to the attacks, who is thought to be on the run. One brother blew himself up in the Bataclan and was identified from a severed finger, while the third was arrested in Belgium but released without charge.
The brothers lived in the rundown Brussels neighbor hood of Molenbeek, which has a reputation as a hotbed of Islamic militancy and where police have made several arrests. Two of the gunmen behind the bloodbath at the Bataclan theatre, where 89 people were killed, have been identified as 29-year-old Paris native Omar Ismail Mostefai and 28-year-old Samy Amimour.
The name of Paris attacker Brahim Abdeslam appears in several police files alongside leading militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud relating to criminal cases in 2010 and 2011, Flemish-language newspaper De Standaard reported. Suspected ISIS militants who were detained in raids in Istanbul last week were in contact with the militants in Paris who conducted deadly attacks across the city, a senior Turkish security official said on Monday. The official said the group in Turkey, who were detained before the Paris attacks, include a man they believe is associated with Mohammed Emwazi, the Islamic State militant known as “Jehadi John.”
A traumatised nation stopped for a minute’s silence at midday to honour at least 129 people killed in the unprecedented assault on Paris nightspots and the national stadium. Thousands paused in the streets and President Francois Hollande observed the silence at the Sorbonne University, in recognition of the large number of young victims.
Hollande on Monday said the Government will bring a Bill on Wednesday to extend the Emergency for 3 months. He said the Paris attacks were planned in Syria and launched from Belgium with French nationals’ help.