Friday, April 25, 2025
10:38 AM
Doha,Qatar
RELATED STORIES

Paris attacks 'mastermind' killed in police raid

 

AFP/Paris

The Islamic State jihadist suspected of masterminding the Paris attacks was killed during a major police raid, prosecutors confirmed Thursday, as French lawmakers voted to extend a state of emergency imposed after the carnage.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed in Wednesday's assault by elite police units on an apartment in northern Paris, which left at least two people dead.

Handprint analysis was used to identify the Belgian's body, which was found among the rubble of the shattered building after officers rained fire and grenades on the jihadists in a seven-hour siege.

"Abdelhamid Abaaoud has just been formally identified... as having been killed during the raid" the Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he welcomed the death of "one of the masterminds" of the attacks.

Prosecutor Francois Molins said Wednesday that the raid in Saint-Denis had stopped a "new team of terrorists" who were ready to launch another attack in a city still mourning 129 dead.

At least two bodies were found after the ferocious shootout, including what is thought to be a woman who detonated an explosives vest.

Valls warned of the dangers still faced by France as lawmakers voted on extending an extraordinary package of security measures for three months.

"We must not rule anything out. There is also the risk from chemical or biological weapons," Valls said.

He called on France's European Union partners to urgently adopt measures to share airline passenger information.

The decision by lawmakers Thursday means the state of emergency will be in place for three months from November 26.

The measures include allowing police to carry weapons when they are off duty and use them in the event of an attack -- providing they wear a police armband to avoid "any confusion", according to a directive seen by AFP.

French MPs also voted to allow the government to block websites and social media under the  state of emergency.

 

- Raids in Belgium -

At least 129 people were killed in the shootings and suicide bombings that targeted a concert hall, bars and restaurants and the Stade de France national stadium, Europe's second deadliest terror attack in history after the 2004 Madrid bombings.

As the Paris probe widened to countries across Europe, Belgian police staged six raids in the Brussels area linked to a suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the French stadium, prosecutors said.

Italy was also hunting five suspects after an FBI tip-off about possible jihadist attacks on landmark sites including St Peter's cathedral in the Vatican, the foreign minister said.

Eight suspects were arrested in the massive Saint-Denis raid which killed Abaaoud, but another key suspect, Salah Abdeslam, remains unaccounted for.

Abdeslam is thought to be one of the only surviving members of the Paris attacks gang. His suicide-bomber brother Brahim Abdeslam blew himself up in a cafe but did not kill anyone else.

As international efforts to fight the Islamic State group stepped up, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Russia was "sincere" in wanting to cooperate against IS, despite deep divisions on whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should stay in power.

"There is an opening, so to speak, with the Russians. We think they are sincere and we must bring together all our forces," he told France Inter radio.

 

- US warning -

US intelligence meanwhile published a report showing it warned in May that IS was capable of carrying out the kind of large-scale coordinated attacks seen in Paris.

The assessment from the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, in coordination with the FBI, specifically refers to Abaaoud as a ringleader of Belgian plotters and warned Europe was more at risk of attack than the United States.

Abaaoud was previously thought to be in Syria after fleeing raids in his native Belgium earlier this year.

IS released a new video threatening New York, and specifically Times Square, although police said there was no "current and specific" threat.

Hours after President Francois Hollande had urged the nation not to resort to anti-Muslim or anti-Semitic reprisals in the wake of the attacks, a Jewish teacher was stabbed and wounded in Marseille by three people shouting anti-Semitic obscenities and expressing support for IS.

France is coming to terms with being attacked for a second time in less than year. In January, jihadist gunmen killed 17 people at Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, on the streets and in a Jewish supermarket.

Citing security fears, the government has cancelled two mass rallies scheduled for November 29 and December 12 -- the days before and after a key UN climate summit to be held outside Paris.

 

 

Comments
  • There are no comments.

Add Comments

B1Details

Latest News

SPORT

Canada's youngsters set stage for new era

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.

1:43 PM February 26 2017
TECHNOLOGY

A payment plan for universal education

Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education

11:46 AM December 14 2016
CULTURE

10-man Lekhwiya leave it late to draw Rayyan 2-2

Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions

7:10 AM November 26 2016
ARABIA

Yemeni minister hopes 48-hour truce will be maintained

The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged

10:30 AM November 27 2016
ARABIA

QM initiative aims to educate society on arts and heritage

Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.

10:55 PM November 27 2016
ARABIA

Qatar, Indonesia to boost judicial ties

The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.

10:30 AM November 28 2016
ECONOMY

Sri Lanka eyes Qatar LNG to fuel power plants in ‘clean energy shift’

Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.

10:25 AM November 12 2016
B2Details
C7Details