Like many young men who have been radicalised by Islamist groups, Salah Abdeslam, the gunman who got away after a group of eight terrorists unleashed a carnage at popular culture spots here last Friday, was a “normal boy” for his family. Salah Abdeslam’s brother, who was arrested and released after a two-day detention in Brussels, told Belgian TV channel RTBF that his was “an open-minded family,” which never had any problems with the police. The family did not notice Salah’s radicalisation.
Salah Abdeslam The mastermind of the plot who financed and organised the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, identified as a Belgian national and active Islamic State executioner in Syria, is also at large, according to media reports.
Paris attacker, mastermind hail from same area
Saleh Abdeslam, one of the gunmen involved in the November 13 Paris terror attacks, and the mastermind, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, are both from Molenbeek, the Brussels suburb. For the second time in 24 hours French warplanes struck targets in Raqqa, Syria, and this time in coordination with U.S. forces. Meanwhile French prosecutors continue to piece together the deadly plot behind the Islamic State attacks in which Belgian and French nationals appear to be the principal actors.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who met French President Francois Hollande here on Tuesday gave an assurance that the Paris climate conference due to be held in two weeks and at which 200 world leaders will be in attendance, will not be interrupted by the “despicable and cowardly acts of terror.”
France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said raids on militant hideouts are continuing and that 1,15,000 more personnel have been mobilised.
