The two men arrested on Monday said they had dropped off Salah Abdeslam in Brussels after picking him up in Paris, revealed police sources following the case who confirmed news broadcast by several media on Tuesday. One of the suspects said he left him at Roi Baudoin Stadium, whereas the other said it was in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean that Salah Abdeslam, who is now under an international arrest warrant, was dropped off after the Paris attacks. The federal prosecutor’s office refused to comment on the differing versions whilst the investigation is on-going.
The Federal prosecutor’s office has nevertheless confirmed the identity of the two people who have been placed under arrest: Belgians and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean residents 27-year-old Mohammed Amri (27) et Hamza Attouh, 21. The two individuals were arrested over the weekend and placed under warrant on Monday, accused of participation in a terrorist attack, as perpetrators or co-perpetrators, and involvement in a terrorist group.
As for what was found when the homes of the two suspects were searched, the federal prosecutor will not confirm the presence of nitrate or explosives as also announced by several media. Indeed, the prosecutor reminds everyone “not to make hasty assumptions as elements seized are in the process of being analysed.”
The attorney for Mohammed Amri, Xavier Carrette, explained that his client received a phone call from Salah Abdeslam on Friday night, asking him to come and pick him up in Paris. He then drove down to the French capital with Hamza Attouh. Their grey Volkswagen Golf was stopped near Cambrai both ways. The three men did not mention the Paris attacks which had just taken place while they were driving and neither of the suspects was seen to be carrying a weapon.
(Source: Belga)
