The investigation into the Paris terrorist attacks continues to unfurl across Europe on Sunday, as The New York Times reports [8] the authorities sought a man believed to be an eighth assailant who might have fled after taking part in the three-hour massacre, which killed at least 129 people.
Amid questions about the autheticity of one of the suicide bombers' passport (conveniently dropped near his body) [9], NBC News reports [10]French authorities were racing Sunday to hunt down any potential accomplices to the wave of terror attacks unleashed in Paris as the investigation widened beyond this nation's borders.
A French man believed to be directly involved in Friday's massacre in Paris is on the run and the subject of an international manhunt, French security officials said Sunday evening.
Investigators said the man rented a Belgian-registered black Volkswagen Polo, which was allegedly used and abandoned by the hostage-takers who killed 89 people inside a Paris concert hall.
He was identified by officials as Salah Abdeslam, 26, from Brussels.
[11]
“Do not intervene yourself,” warns the message issued Sunday evening.
He is one of three brothers believed to be involved in the killings; one was arrested in Belgium and another died in the attack, the first official said.
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said seven terrorists died in the attack on Friday. Officials initially said there were eight attackers — as did ISIS. It seems now Abdeslam is believed to be the eighth attacker.
Among the seven dead attackers were a French national who had been radicalized and a Syrian born in 1990, according to Molins. Local French media partially identified two of the attackers as Ismail M. and Abbdul Akbak B, and a former French official confirmed that information to NBC News. The brother and father of Ismail M. were taken into custody Saturday, the official added.
Seven people were detained Sunday in Belgium in connection with deadly attacks in Paris as the city entered three days of mourning for the 129 people killed in the worst violence in France in decades.
As many as three of the seven suicide bombers who died in the attacks were French citizens, as was at least one of the men arrested in neighboring Belgium.
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The broadening scope of the investigation came as more signs emerged that the attackers may have infiltrated Europe as part of the influx of refugees flooding the continent — bringing the immigration debate raging on the continent back to the fore. Serbia's Ministry of Interior confirmed to NBC News that a terror suspect of interest to French authorities was registered and requested asylum at the Presevo border crossing on October 7.