'I was a suicide bomber': Paris suspect charged in Belgium
(Agencies) Updated: 2016-03-20 06:49
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French fire brigade members aid an injured individual near the Bataclan concert hall following fatal shootings in Paris, France, November 13, 2015. At least 60 people were killed in attacks in Paris and a hostage situation was under way at a concert hall in the French capital, French media reported on Friday. [Photo/Agencies] |
Abdeslam's family, who had urged him to give himself up, said through their lawyer that they had a "sense of relief".
Authorities hope the arrest may help disrupt other militant cells that Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said were certainly "out there" and planning further violence.
French security services stepped up their measures at frontier crossings after a global warning from Interpol that other fugitives might try to move country.
"We've won a battle against the forces of ignorance but the struggle isn't over," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said.
The case has raised tensions with France but Michel and French President Francois Hollande, who was in Brussels for an EU summit when Abdeslam was arrested, praised each other's security services.
Hollande was attending an international soccer match at the Stade de France when the bombers struck.
Fight risk
A man using false papers in the names of Amine Choukri and Monir Ahmed Alaaj was also charged with terrorist murder. As Choukri, he was documented by German police in the city of Ulm in October when he was stopped in a car with Abdeslam. French prosecutor Molins said Abdeslam travelled widely to prepare the attacks.
A third man in the house when the pair were arrested was charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation. He and a woman who was present were charged with concealing criminals.
