Belgian with ‘direct links’ to Paris attackers arrested

Belgian with ‘direct links’ to Paris attackers arrested

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 06:54 PM IST
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Rabat : A Belgian man with “direct links” to Paris attackers was arrested near Casablanca city of Morocco, the country’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The man of Moroccan descent, arrested on Friday, was not named, with authorities only releasing his initials “GA” in Arabic, Xinhua reported.

The suspect had travelled from Belgium to Syria with one of the Saint-Denis suicide bombers to fight Al-Nusra Front before joining the Islamic State (IS), the ministry said.

He had received military training on the use of different types of arms and guerrilla tactics before being sent to one of the conflict fronts, it added. During his time in Syria, the arrested man formed close ties with the IS leaders, including the mastermind of Paris attacks, who issued threats to carry out terrorist attacks in France and Belgium, the ministry said. It also said the suspect left Syria and returned to Belgium via Turkey and Germany, and he entered Morocco from the Netherlands. The suspect will be referred to justice after completion of investigation, it said.Several of the Islamic extremists who targeted a Paris rock concert, stadium and cafes on Nov. 13 had Moroccan origins and links to Belgium.The Moroccan ministry said in a statement that the man was arrested Friday in the town of Mohammedia, near Casablanca, after traveling through Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. It said the suspect is under investigation. At least one of the Paris attackers remains at large. Morocco has emerged as a key ally for European investigators trying to piece together the geography of the Nov. 13 attacks.

The head of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, dubbed the “Moroccan FBI,” told the AP in a recent interview that his country put French and Belgian police on the trail of the network behind the Paris attacks.

Several of the attackers lived in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek, home to many immigrants of Moroccan descent.

Last July, a Brussels court found 30 people guilty of involvement in an operation to recruit foreign fighters for Syria. Some were already in Syria when the trial took place.

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