Paris Attacks- Salah Abdeslam Manhunt Launched Across Europe

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Paris attacks: Manhunt for Salah Abdeslam and accomplices

1 hour ago

 From the section Europe

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A huge manhunt is under way for surviving members of the Islamist group that killed 129 people in Paris on Friday night, and their accomplices.

French police have named Salah Abdeslam, 26, as a main suspect.

Officials say he was in a car when was stopped by police on Saturday, hours after the attacks took place, but he and the other occupants were released.

One of his brothers is said to have died after detonating a suicide belt, and another has been arrested.

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Meanwhile, French military aircraft have attacked Raqqa in Syria - the stronghold of Islamic State (IS), which claims to have carried out Friday night's attacks on the French capital.

Media captionVideo released by the French Ministry of Defence shows military aircraft departing on their mission

Seven attackers died in Friday's gun and bomb attacks on bars and restaurants, a concert hall and the Stade de France, the country's main sports stadium - most of them after detonating suicide belts.

Salah Abdeslam is said to have rented a VW Polo car that was found near the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people died, and believed to have been used by attackers.

On Saturday he was in a vehicle near the Belgian border which was stopped by police, officials said. He was reportedly questioned, had his papers checked and was then released along with two other men who were also in the car.

It is unclear whether the French authorities had matched the VW Polo found at the Bataclan venue to him at the time he was stopped.

Police have described Salah Abdeslam as dangerous, and warned people not to approach him.

Media captionWho were the victims of the Paris attack?

He is one of three Belgium-based brothers linked to Friday's attacks, officials say.

Another, Brahim Abdeslam, 31, is said to have been the attacker who blew himself up outside a bar on the Boulevard Voltaire near the Bataclan, wounding one person.

A third brother, Mohammed, was reportedly arrested in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek while returning from Paris and remains in custody.

Officials said they were traced following the discovery of two rental cars registered in Belgium - the VW Polo rented by Salah Abdeslam and a Seat containing Kalashnikovs that was found abandoned in the Paris suburb of Montreuil.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Friday night's attacks in Paris had been prepared "by a group of individuals based in Belgium" who had "benefited from accomplices in France".

Belgian police have made a total of seven arrests.

Belgium's Premier Charles Michel said the Belgian authorities would crack down on Molenbeek, which has a reputation as being a haven for jihadists.

"I have noticed there is almost always a link to Molenbeek, that there is a gigantic problem there," he said.

Another attacker to have been identified is 29-year-old Frenchman Ismail Omar Mostefai, who blew himself up at the Bataclan. He had a criminal record and had been flagged up as a possible Islamist extremist by French intelligence.

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Analysis: Gordon Corera, security correspondent, BBC News

French investigators are pursuing an international trail that stretches across Europe - and one concern for security services in other countries is how far Islamic State has already put in place the ability to replicate the Paris attacks.

There are unconfirmed reports that a similar style attack might have been planned in Turkey for the same time but was foiled.

Tracing back the Paris operatives to whoever organised them will be crucial in order to understand what else might be planned.

These attackers do not appear to have been people simply inspired by IS, but rather trained operatives.

And the fact that Western intelligence services do not appear to have picked up any signs of this plot from their human and electronic sources will only increase concerns.

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French President Francois Hollande has said the attacks were an act of war and promised that his country's reaction would be pitiless.

On Sunday, 10 fighter jets operating out of French bases in Jordan and the UAE dropped 20 guided bombs on four targets in Raqqa, the French defence ministry said.

The targets included a command centre, recruitment centre for jihadists, a munitions depot and a training camp for fighters, the ministry said.

The strikes were carried out in co-ordination with US forces.

France is currently marking a third and final day of national mourning. A state of emergency declared by President Hollande remains in force, and thousands of extra police and troops are on the streets of Paris.