Suspected terror mastermind Salah Abdeslam, the top suspect in last year’s Paris attacks, confessed to investigators after he was captured that they nabbed him in the nick of time.
Abdeslam admitted he and the other terror suspects arrested over the weekend were planning new operations from Brussels and had access to several weapons, Belgium’s foreign minister said Sunday.
The accused terrorist had claimed that “he was ready to restart something from Brussels,” Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said.
Reynders gave credence to the suspect’s claim because “we found a lot of weapons, heavy weapons in the first investigations, and we have seen a new network of people around him in Brussels.”
Abdeslam, captured Friday in a police raid in Brussels, was charged Saturday with “terrorist murder” by Belgian authorities. He is a top suspect in the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead.
Abdeslam was wounded during the raid, and a senior Belgian police official said that he was shot in the leg as he ran toward officers outside an apartment in the Molenbeek neighborhood.
The head of Belgium’s special federal police unit, Roland Pacolet, told broadcaster RTL that one hypothesis being studied by police was that the suspect wanted to commit suicide.
“When someone comes out running toward the police, we have to ask ourselves some questions. What did he have in mind? What was he going to do? Either he wanted to get killed by the police, or he wanted to blow himself up near the police,” Pacolet said.
Speaking to security experts at a German Marshall Fund conference in Brussels, the foreign minister said “we have found more than 30 people involved in the terrorist attacks in Paris, but we are sure that there are others.”
Reynders urged European intelligence, law enforcement, and border authorities to exchange more information to help track the suspects down.
Interpol also has called on European countries to be vigilant at their borders, saying Abdeslam’s accomplices may try to flee after his capture. The international police agency recommended closer checks at borders, especially for stolen passports. Many of the Nov. 13 attackers and accomplices traveled on falsified or stolen documents
Molins said Abdeslam, 26, told Belgian officials he had “wanted to blow himself up at the Stade de France” as a suicide bomber, but that he backed out at the last minute.
France is seeking Abdeslam’s extradition for trial there, but Mary said he would fight any attempt to hand over his client and that investigators have much to learn from the suspect, who was born in Belgium but has French and Moroccan nationality.
“Salah is of great importance to this investigation. I would even say that he is worth gold. He is cooperating, he is communicating, he is not insisting on his right to silence. I think it would be worthwhile now to give things a bit of time … for investigators to be able to talk to him,” Mary said.
In response, an official in the Paris prosecutor’s office said French law allows prosecutors to speak about elements of an investigation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to discuss this issue publicly.
The suspect, who could be one of the rare jihadis to face trial and possibly speak during proceedings, awoke Sunday after his first night in a prison just outside the city of Bruges, western Belgium.
The prison has a special section for high-profile prisoners, with specially trained guards. Cells have double doors and any furniture or equipment is attached to the floor.
Abdeslam was shot in the leg Friday along with a suspected accomplice when they were captured during an anti-terror raid in Brussels. He was found at an apartment a mere 500 meters (yards) from his parents’ home, where he grew up.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Why do these nations keep on allowing haters into their nations?
Just look what is going on here in the USA – the Moron Politician we have, here is your answer —- do i need to say more…?
@Hougo. Good point.
Because their politicians are just like ours in the USA ….. STUPID AND LIBERAL who operate on “feelings” not on facts and historical events. Why are we inviting 100,000 people with identical thinking and beliefs??????? Because of the stupidity at the top. If not stupid then their intent is to destroy our system.
Sinister, not stupid. But you are right about a take down. They want chaos and fear to enhance their power and advance their world dominance goal.
to hack the Republicans
Because they are liberals, and they believe that evil does not exist. Therefore, if evil does not exist they don’t have to deal with it. They actually are just like the ostrich who sticks his head in the sand and believes nobody can see him. If they believed in evil, then they would have to believe that the opposite is also true. So, in their way of thinking, if evil does not exist then neither does God. That way, when they die they won’t have to answer for their actions. Their religion is their ideology. If you try to use common sense to understand them, you will fail every time.
He was born and raised there in Belgiam
Which only proves that muslims are always muslims first and not citizens of their host country.
@GGbox……..Exactly. Muslims do ‘not’ want to blend in. They want mosques. And they will ‘never’ abide by our laws. They want death to all non-muslims.
And right after all the non-muslims are gone, they will go rihjt back to killing each other
That is correct. If they do assimilate, then they are considered traitors to their religion. Muslims and liberals are very similar in that while the Muslims believe in God, they have infused their religion with their form of government or civil control. Liberals don’t believe in God but their ideology is also their form of religion/government mixed. Liberals refuse to listen to anyone who tries to tell them that God exists.
The same reason the USA is allowing them. Governments in the majority are liberals/ leftists that do not believe in patriotism, God or country. They are all for a global government.
*** Right on ***
We have come to a time in history that many have lost faith in GOD and do not believe in a life after this one.For this reason those that die with the most toys are the winners is the mind set. We have people renting that have storage bins full of things they will never use with a hoarder mindset. The socialist lifestyle of the government providing all one needs is becoming more apparent when over 47% of the population is on government assistance. Revelation speaks of things as they were in the beginning so shall they be in the end times. We have gone full circle and are days are numbered for the son of man is returning and the signs are obvious, more so today than anytime in history. The majority books of the BIBLE have been fulfilled and there is no reason to doubt the remaining prophecy will not manifest itself.The evil one is loose on the Earth and those with no willpower to stand against the wrong will rather be part of the evil for it takes no standards to lower oneself to that of an animal.One more thing that is contributing to the destruction of Earth is the lack of family unit. There is no Mom and Dad and the roles are reversed leaving many to mimic what they have as a role model.Women can’t teach a boy how to be a man and a man can’t teach a girl how to be a woman especially if one or the other has hurt the one teaching. Catholics do not teach their children to be Protestant and Christians don’t teach their children to be muslims so how can a same sex couple teach a normal child had to be normal. If one loves the LORD more than their desires or propensity they will seek him and demand the abnormal to get behind them as they would to the devil by saying get thee behind me satan. Addiction can only be defeated by admitting what it is and confronting it straight on.
You have a very good grasp of what makes the liberal mind tick. We started out as a small colony of a couple of hundred people who were deeply religious and who escaped from the form of State run religions of most of Europe. If you didn’t belong to the Church of England, you could not find a job or apply for an apprenticeship. That said, the colonists eventually formed a New World form of government or Order based on both theology and common sense and declared that there shall never be a State-run religion in America. We allow Muslims who are the exact antithesis of our way of life to gather into conclaves and build their Mosques and Madrasas who preach death to all non-Muslims.
What’s wrong with this picture. I believe it was Einstein who said, “I believe that both the universe and human stupidity are infinite, but I’m not so sure of the former.”
Thank God that SOB was caught I say no trial firing squard and let the people he killed take him out. They may get some solace in doing this and show it on TV all over the world and see if they learn a lesson. They are animals there mothers’ should have aborted them at birth.
kinda hard for the people he killed to take him out. At this time, he is valuable to us, we need to keep him around.
You do realize of course, that she meant the families of those he killed.
I’m glad to hear more of the terrorists were caught. Law enforcement needs to round everybody up who was in any way connected to the terrorist attacks. Those terrorists need to face lengthy prison sentences–like life.
Their remains should be mixed with hog blood PUBLICLY, making them unacceptable to Allah! Not as revenge for what they did (well, partially) but mostly to prevent the next act of terror from the others! No 72 virgins, No Paradise, STRAIGHT TO HELL! This is how to stop terrorism, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, prevents it happening though! Your Libtards prefer CULTURAL SUICIDE & LITERAL SUICIDE to NOT being POLITICALLY CORRECT!