French and Belgian police are investigating links between the cell that killed 129 people and the Molenbeek area of Brussels known as a 'den of terrorists'. The killer gang, containing a number of Frenchman living in Belgium and two others carrying Syrian passports after sneaking into Europe disguised as migrants, are believed to have travelled together from Brussels to Paris in rented cars. Three brothers are also believed to be involved in the attack with one killed, the second arrested and the third now on the run. Three other suspects were held after a discarded parking ticket found in a Volkswagen Polo rental car used by the terrorists in Paris led them to the Molenbeek. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said today that 'those in Belgium who prepared the attacks were not known to the French intelligence services' and said the attack on Paris was 'planned from abroad'.
Was Paris attack planned by a Belgian terror cell in the 'Jihad capital of Europe'? Police investigating links between killer gang that included THREE BROTHERS, a homegrown terrorist and 'refugee' suicide bomber who used a Syrian passport
- Anti-terror police have arrested seven people in Belgium in 24 hours including five from Molenbeek in Brussels
- Three brothers are believed to be involved in the attack with one killed, the second arrested and the third on the run
- Molenbeek has become known as the 'Jihad capital of Europe' and a ' den of terrorists' because its terror links
- Two cars involved in the terror attack were rented in Belgium and a third car abandoned in Paris had Belgian plates
- VW Polo seen outside Bataclan theatre had parking ticket which led police to launch raids in Molenbeek
- See more of the latest news and updates on the terrorist attacks in Paris
An eight-strong ISIS cell who murdered 129 people in Paris included three brothers who may all have gathered in a Belgian suburb called the 'Jihad capital of Europe' to collect their AK-47s and suicide vests.
The killer gang, containing a number of Frenchman living in Belgium, two others carrying Syrian passports after sneaking into Europe disguised as migrants and a female accomplice, are believed to have travelled together from Brussels to Paris in rented cars.
Three brothers are also believed to be involved in the attack with one killed, the second arrested and the third now on the run.
French and Belgian police are investigating links between the cell and the Molenbeek area of Brussels known as a 'den of terrorists'. Seven people have been arrested in connection with the France attacks in Belgium in the past 24 hours and five were held in Molenbeek.
Three suspects were held after a discarded parking ticket found in a Volkswagen Polo rental car used by the terrorists in Paris led them to the same street where a gunman who opened opened fire on a high-speed train in August had lived.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said today that 'those in Belgium who prepared the attacks were not known to the French intelligence services' and said the attack on Paris was 'planned from abroad'.
Scroll down for video
Incredible footage shows armed officers swarm on at least one man and force him to kneel down as they detain him on a wall as shocked shoppers look on in the St Jans Molenbeek area of Brussels, Belgium, at around 5pm UK time yesterday. It came as Belgian police made a number of arrests in Brussels hours after the deadly attacks in Paris, after a car seen in the French captial was intercepted at the border
Link: A car is towed during a police raid in Brussels' Molenbeek district last night - an area called the 'Jihadi capital of Europe' because of the links to a number of historic terror plot
The face of one of the Paris killers was revealed in a passport found on the body of a suicide bomber who allegedly sneaked into France by posing as a refugee after being rescued from a sinking migrant boat.
Serbian media claims Ahmed Almuhamed, 25, whose Syrian passport was found on the body of a suicide bomber, allegedly blew himself up at the Bataclan concert hall, where at least 89 people were slaughtered on Friday.
The newspaper, Blic, claims Almuhamed arrived with another of the bombers in Europe on the Greek island of Leros on October 3 on his way to Paris. Greek website Protothema have published ferry tickets showing the name of a second man, Mohammed Almuhamed, who could be a relation.
French police have said homegrown terrorist Omar Ismaël Mostefai , 29, from Courcouronnes, Paris, was one of the Bataclan suicide bombers but he is said to have been radicalised by a Brussels-based hate preacher who spoke regularly at his French mosque.
It has emerged a woman may have been part of the eight-strong ISIS kamikaze terror squad and three brother may also have taken part.
It has emerged a woman may have been part of the eight-strong ISIS kamikaze terror squad and three brother may also have taken part.
Prosecutors in Brussels said today two vehicles used in the terror attack were rented there and another dumped in Paris has Belgian plates
Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens confirmed that the driver of a black Volkswagen Golf linked to the attack is a suspected Paris cell member and the brother of a jihadi fighter currently in Syria.
A black Seat Leon with Belgian plates used by the terrorists who murdered diners outside the Casa Nostra pizza restaurant and the La Belle Équipe cafe has been found abandoned in Paris with three AK-47s with five full magazines and 11 empty ones.
Officers are still hunting for two gunmen on the run and the bomb maker who made the killer gang's suicide vests.
Wanted man: Serbian media says this is 25-year-old Ahmed Almuhamed, whose Syrian passport is pictured, who blew himself up at the Bataclan concert hall and is believed to have sneaked into France with another terrorist by posing as refugees from Syria
Tickets: A Greek website has uncovered the terror suspect's ferry tickets to Greece and shows he was travelling with a Mohammed Almuhamed, likely to be a relation
This is the remains of one of the suicide bomber who targeted 80,000 fans at the Stade de France during a football match on Friday
At least two of the terrorists is believed to have left Syria, travelled through Turkey and registered as a refugee on the Greek island of Leros on October 3 before continuing his journey northwards eventually arriving in Paris
On the second day after the worst terror attack in French history it has emerged:
- French police are hunting for two gunmen on the run after Friday's attacks and an ISIS bombmaker likely to have made the suicide vests
- The car used in drive-by shootings at two restaurants was found abandoned containing three AK-47s with five full magazines and 11 empty ones
- One of Bataclan suspects was found carrying a Syrian passport under the name Ahmed Almuhamed who travelled to France as a migrant through Greece. Ferry tickets reveal he travelled with another man named as Mohammed Almuhamed.
- Frenchman Omar Ismaël Mostefai, 29, also named as a Bataclan suicide bomber who was identified by his severed finger. Mostefai's father, a brother and other family members have been held and are being questioned.
- Mostefai said to have been radicalised by a Belgian hate preacher of Moroccan descent said to have regularly preached at his mosque
- Bataclan survivors claim that one of the four shooters was a woman
- Seven people were detained in Belgium linked to the atrocities - five in Brussels
The down-at-heel suburb of Molenbeek has been dubbed ‘a den of terrorists’ by Belgian media because it has repeatedly featured in attacks
The Islamist who killed people at a Paris kosher grocery in January at the time of the attack on the magazine Charlie Hebdo acquired weapons in the district.
Ayoub El Khazzani, the man behind August's foiled attack on an Amsterdam-Paris train, had been staying in Molenbeek with his sister before initiating his strike.
Moroccan-born gunman Khazzani, 26, lived with his sister in Molonbeek, Brussels, weeks before his attempted attack on the Thalys train.
He stayed with his sister, who lives on the same road where two of the arrests were made in relation to the Paris attacks.
Several people spotted El Khazzani in the area where his sister lives in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek.
The sister was questioned by anti-terror detectives in Brussels. Now part of their investigation is around whether El Khazzani and the suspects planned the separate attacks.
A neighbour, who lives down the road where two of the arrests were made, said: ‘I remember El Khazzani lived here for a time. I don’t know whether he knew these men, but it’s certainly possible. This is quite a small community where everyone knows each other.’
The Jewish Museum shooter Mehdi Nemmouche, who killed three people at the in Brussels in 2014 also stayed in the district; as did one of those involved in the Madrid bombings in 2003.
The alleged mastermind behind a plot to kidnap and behead a policeman in the street-inspired by Lee Rigby murder- Abdelhamid Abaaoud -was from Molenbeek. The plot was foiled by Belgian police in January.
Belgian Prime Minster Charles Michel admitted the Molenbeek area has been a major security problem for many years.
He told VRT television today : ‘Almost every single time there’s a link with Molenbeek' while Belgian Minister of Home Affairs Jan Jambon added: 'The situation in Molenbeek is out of control.'
'Den of terrorists': A police car patrols the Molenbeek district of Brussels today after seven arrests in Belgium linked to the Paris terror attack in the past 24 hours
An armed officer stood guard and kept a look-out as one of the terror suspects was arrested in the St Jans Molenbeek area of Brussels yesterday. The suspect was later taken into police custody where he will be questioned in connection with the horror attacks in France
Plain-clothed officers were joined by armed officers as they swarmed on the suspects in Brussels at about 5pm UK time yesterday. It came after a parking ticket found on a vehicle outside the Bataclan theatre in Paris - where gunmen killed 89 people - led officers to Belgium
Undercover plain-clothed officers are seen with weapons and handcuffs on their jeans as they detain a suspect in Belgian in connection with the Paris terror attacks in which 129 people were killed when fanatics stormed four restaurants, a concert hall and a sports stadium
Several shoppers watched as Belgian police made a number of arrests at the French border and in the St Jans Molenbeek area of Brussels - which has a large community of immigrants from Morocco and Turkey and has been linked to several other terror plots in Europe before
Police revealed today they had found the other vehicle used in the terror attacks – a black Seat Leon - abandoned in the Montreuil area of France. The car is not shown in this photo but smashed glass, believed to be from the vehicle, remains on the floor after it was driven off
Smashed glass from the black Seat Leon which was used in the Paris terror attacks and today found abandoned in eastern Paris covers the floor in Montreui. It is believed the windows on the vehicle were smashed on this road before the car was taken and later abandoned
Screen: Belgian policemen close off streets in Molenbeek as three men believed to be linked to the worst terror attack on French soil in history
Yesterday the Belgian authorities swooped on three men in Molenbeek area at 5pm yesterday – less than 19 hours after at least 129 innocent people lost their lives in Paris.
The arrests came after a black Volkswagen Polo with Belgian number plates was seen parked outside the Bataclan theatre in Paris on Friday night – where more than 89 people were gunned down during an Eagles of Death Metal gig.
Intelligence officers found a parking ticket discarded in the vehicle which had been issued by authorities in the Molenbeek district, prompting police to launch a number of raids across the residential area of Brussels and arrest seven suspects thought to be linked to a terror cell.
Yesterday Belgian authorities swooped on the men in the St Jans Molenbeek area of Brussels at 5pm UK time yesterday – less than 19 hours after at least 129 innocent people lost their lives when gunmen and suicide bombers stormed four restaurants, a packed concert hall and a sports stadium in Paris.
Incredible footage shows armed officers swarm on at least one man and force him to kneel down as they detain him on a wall as shoppers look on.
The arrests came after a black Volkswagen Polo with Belgian number plates was seen parked outside the Bataclan theatre in Paris on Friday night – where more than 89 people were gunned down during an Eagles of Death Metal gig.
Intelligence officers found a parking ticket discarded in the vehicle which had been issued by authorities in the Molenbeek district, prompting police to launch a number of raids across the residential area of Brussels and arrest seven suspects thought to be linked to a terror cell.
Three people, including the Frenchman who hired the VW Polo used in the terror attacks, were also arrested at the Belgian border as they tried to drive from France to Belgium on Saturday.
Belgian Federal Prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt has explained the events leading up to a string of arrests in the troubled Molenbeek area of Brussels over the past 24 hours.
Initially it was thought three suspects were arrested as they tried to cross the border from France in the hours after Friday’s attacks. Mr Van der Sypt said two Belgian-registered cars linked to the Molenbeek area were used in the attack. One of the cars, a grey Volkswagen Polo was identified near the Bataclan concert hall.
According to Der Morgen, Catherine De Bolle, commissioner general of the Belgian Federal Police admitted her officers are unable to provide round-the-clock surveillance of jihadi suspects who have returned from the Middle East.
She said: ‘There are 474 people linked to the conflict in Syria, about 130 of them have returned, 77 have died and there are more than 200 fighters there.
‘Every warrior needs a different approach, we look at what measures we associate with the warrior. We can not follow each returned jihadi around the clock.
‘There is a structured approach, but I obviously can not guarantee proof that there can be no attacks. Also in Paris has been unable to prevent the attacks.’
Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur said jihadis are able to thrive due to the freedom of movement within the European Union. He told RTBF.be: ‘Europe has become borderless, so it is normal that they (the perpetrators of attacks) also benefit. But we must ensure that we are no longer a base for those who go to war in Europe.’
The black Seat was used by the terrorists who murdered diners outside the Casa Nostra pizza restaurant and the La Belle Équipe cafe in Paris, while the VW Golf is thought to have been used by those who descended on the Bataclan concert hall.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said that gunmen armed with automatic weapons pulled up in the Seat before opening fire, killing 15 people and injuring 10.
The discovery of the abandoned vehicle now means police have traced both of the cars they were hunting in connection with the Paris massacre.
However, the discovery heightens fears that more of the attackers – or their accomplices – are still on the run with police confirming they are now looking for at least two men who are believed to have fled from the abandoned Seat.
Witnesses have said the car was used by attackers at multiple locations on Friday night, and that several AK47 rifles of the sort used during the attacks were discovered in the abandoned vehicle.
Belgian anti-terror police launched a series of raids in the Brussels area after three suspects were arrested as they attempted to cross the border from France. A bomb disposal unit and police car is seen in the Molenbeek district of Brussels last night as the arrests were made
Officers searched the Molenbeek area of Brussels (pictured), which is home to a large Turkish and Moroccan community, after a parking ticket found on a grey VW Polo parked outside the Bataclan theatre in Paris was found to have been issued from the Brussels district
Masked Belgian anti-terror policemen searched for suspects in Molenbeek area of Brussels in connection with the deadly Paris attacks
The Molenbeek district is home to a large community of immigrants from Morocco and Turkey and has been linked to terror plots before
Policemen could be seen searching for suspects in Molenbeek last night after they managed to trace a VW Polo from Paris to Brussels
Prime Minister Charles Michel said at least one of those held from the inner Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek was believed to have spent the previous evening in Paris.
Meanwhile, the borough's mayor, Francoise Schepmans, said today that police were dealing with a terror 'network' in the district.
One international security expert said: 'Belgium is a bit the Achilles heel of Europe.' Another, Rafaello Pantucci of London's Royal United Services Institute, said: 'The networks between France and Belgium have been very tight for some time.'
The Belgian prosecutors would not say whether any of those arrested on Saturday were previously known to authorities.
A Belgian anti-terrorism judge took up the case because two of the people killed in Paris were Belgians, the office said in a statement.
A spokesman said: 'The investigation is opened into a charge of terrorism and participation in the activities of a terrorist group.
'Several arrests were carried out at the end of the afternoon. The operations are still underway in the Molenbeek neighbourhood.'
The arrests come after it emerged that one of the terrorists was 29-year-old Frenchman Omar Ismael Mostefai, who had previously been flagged for links to Islamic radicalism. His finger was found among the carnage at the Bataclan theatre and he was confirmed as one of the terrorists.
Prosecutors believe three teams of terrorists carried out co-ordinated attacks and used two separate cars during the massacre.
It has also been revealed that one of the terrorists responsible for the Paris atrocities arrived on the Greek Island of Leros on October 3, in a small boat among a group of 69 refugees who arrived from Turkey.
Investigators believe that the man travelled through Greece, into Macedonia before making his way northwards.
Belgian police launched raids across the Molenbeek district in Brussels after a car was intercepted at the French/Belgium border. Officers arrested three men travelling in the car at the border before carrying out raids across the area following the information they received
Border checks were reintroduced at the French/Belgium border last night as the authorities tried to find the remainder of the terror cell
Belgian authorities have not yet confirmed exactly how many people have been arrested in Brussels but police said 'several' had been
According to Greece's deputy minister in charge of police Nikos Toskas: 'The holder of the passport passed through the island of Leros on October 3, 2015, where he was identified according to EU rules.'
A Greek police source said the passport's owner was a young man who had arrived in Leros on a small vessel from Turkey with a group of 69 refugees and had his fingerprints taken by Greek officials.
Two further suspects wanted by French authorities are believed to have registered as refugees in Greece earlier this year.
French authorities had asked their Greek counterparts to check a passport and fingerprints of one man and the fingerprints of another who were thought to have registered in Greece, which is the main entry point into Europe for Syrian refugees.
At least one Syrian passport was found near the body of one of the assailants who died in Friday night's violence.
Interpol has confirmed it has set up a 'crisis response task force' at its headquarters in southeastern France following the deadly attacks in Paris.
Secretary-General Juergen Stock condemned the 'cold-blooded, cowardly attacks' that left at least 129 people dead Friday night.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said that the terror threat level in the UK will remain at 'severe' but that the Paris attack would prompt a review of plans and suggested the threat posed by ISIS was 'evolving'.
Meanwhile, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said Scotland Yard will now 'urgently review' its tactics for responding to terrorism attacks similar to the one in Paris.
Interpol has also joined the anti-terror investigation after it emerged that at least one of the Paris terrorists had arrived to Europe from Syria
A woman is comforted as she breaks down outside the Carillon cafe and the Petit Cambodge restaurant where victims were gunned down
Survivors began tending to those who had been injured during Friday's atrocity despite the fear of further terrorist attacks
'MY MOBILE PHONE SAVED MY LIFE BY BLOCKING FLYING SHRAPNEL'
A survivor injured in the attack at the Stade de France told how his mobile phone may have saved his life.
The man, known only as Sylvestre, says his Samsung phone blocked the debris when terrorists attacked as he passed the stadium.
Sylvestre, who was also shot in the foot, had just finished a phone call as a suicide bomber struck close to where he stood.
The smashed device stopped debris hitting his skull.
Showing French news channel iTele the damage, he said: 'This is the phone that took the hit, it's what saved me. Otherwise my head would have been blown to bits.'
Sylvestre says his Samsung phone blocked the debris when terrorists attacked as he passed the stadium
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3318765/Paris-terror-suspects-arrested-Brussels-car-given-fine.html#ixzz3raHkAaPn
.jpg)
