Paris attacks: Everything we know about the suspects

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-attack-suspects-salah-abdeslam-abdelhamid-abaaoud-a6735986.html

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Four more people have been officially named as the perpetrators in Friday’s terror attacks, while three other names have surfaced in media reports.

Seven attackers died during Friday night’s terror attacks in Paris, say French authorities, while three others remain alive.

One of those alive is suspected to be the 'mastermind' behind the terror attacks, known as Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Another suspect, Salah Abdeslam, is on the run and is now the subject of an international manhunt. Belgian authorities have arrested seven other men believed to be connected with the attacks.

More details have surfaced about other suspects. This is what we know about them.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud Age: 27 The suspected ‘mastermind’ of the attacks has been identified as Belgian man Abdelhamid Abaaoud. RTL Radio in France reported him as "one of the most active Isis executioners in Syria". He is said to be from the Molenbeek district of Brussels, and reportedly has been involved in thwarted train and church attacks. Abdelhamid allegedly oversaw the attack operation and funded it. He reportedly joined the extremist militant group in 2013 and appeared in a video driving a van carrying mutliated bodies to a mass grave. He remains at large.

Salah Abdeslam Age: 26 Salah Abdeslam is the key suspect on the run, and is now one of the most wanted men in the world. He was stopped hours after the attack by police guarding the Belgian borders but then released because his name was not on any wanted list at the time. Salah is thought to have rented the black Volkswagen Polo used by the attackers on Bataclan concert hall. He was born and raised in Belgium, although French police have described him as a French national.

Police have described Salah as dangerous and warn people not to approach him.

Brahim Abdeslam Age: 31 Ibrahim is said to have detonated his suicide belt outside a bar on the Boulevard Voltaire near the Bataclan on Friday. Prosecutors have identified him as the man who rented a Seat car used in the attacks. He is brother to Salah and Mohammed Abdeslam.

Mohammed Abdeslam Age: n/a Mohammed Abdeslam was reportedly arrested around 5pm on Saturday in the Molenbeek-Saint-Jean district of Brussels, suspected of being connected to the attacks. He is said to be protesting his innocence, and his lawyers are trying for his release from police custody. 

Bilal Hadfi Age: 20 Also from Belgium, Bilal Hadfi was named by the Washington Post as one of the attackers at the Stade de France. He is said to have spent time fighting with Isis in Syria before returning to Europe.

Omar Ismail Mostefai Age: 29 Omar is the first attacker named by French authorities. He is of Algerian heritage and grew up in Courcouronnes, south of Paris. He detonated his suicide belt inside the Bataclan concert hall, and was identified from prints taken from a severed finger found there.

A senior Turkish official has said authorities in the country flagged him up to their French counterparts in 2014 but received no response from them until after the Paris attacks. The officials said Mostefai entered Turkey in 2013 but there are no records of him leaving. He said this case shows that sharing intelligence and effective communications are crucial to countering terrorism.

 

Ahmed Almohamed Age: 25 The passport of Ahmed Almohamed was found near the Stade de France after the bombing, and was registered by a refugee who had been processed in the Southern Serbian town of Preservo. French authorities have not said if that man’s fingerprints match any of the attacker’s remains. Serbian newspaper Blic reported that French security officials have asked Serbia for help in confirming his identity. 

Samy Amimour Age: 28 One of the attackers at the Bataclan concert hall, Samy Amimour, had been placed on a terrorist watch list for attempting travel to Yemen in 2012. He had been placed under judicial supervision went missing and was suspected of travelling to Syria to join Isis. According to friends, Samy looked completely different when he reappeared in Paris in recent months.

Police raided an address north of Paris where Samy was said to be living, and questioned neighbours about his movements. In June 2013, Amimour's father Mohamed travelled to Syria in an attempt to persuade his son to come home to France, but Samy had pledged his allegiance to Isis and adopted the name Abu Hajia, which means war.