Suspected Mastermind Of Paris Attacks Named

The suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks has been named as Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud by French officials.

It has been reported that Abaaoud had links to thwarted attacks on a Paris-bound high-speed train when two US soldiers overpowered a heavily-armed gunman and a separate attack on a church.

He also had links to two suspects killed in a counter-terrorism raid in Verviers, Belgium, in January.

Abaaoud, who also uses the name Abu Omar al Baljiki, is of Moroccan origin and is believed to be in Syria currently.

Seven people are in custody in Belgium suspected of links to the attacks and an international arrest warrant has been issued for a Belgian-born Frenchman who is still at large.
Investigators have also named another suspect who was questioned and released by police hours after the massacres which left 129 people dead.

Salah Abdeslam, who has become known as "Public Enemy Number One", reportedly helped with logistics and rented a black Volkswagen Polo used by the gunmen who stormed the Bataclan concert hall and killed at least 89 people on Friday night.
The 26-year-old was apparently spoken to by officers on Saturday morning when they pulled over a car carrying three people near the Belgian border.

Police then checked Abdeslam's ID and subsequently let him go, officials told the Associated Press.

Abdeslam, who was born in Brussels, is described as 1m 75cm (5ft 8in) tall and has brown eyes.

Meanwhile more suicide bombers involved in attacks have been identified by the prosecutor's office.

Ibrahim Abdeslam

The brother of Salah was reportedly among the seven suicide bombers in the co-ordinated assaults targeting six sites across the French capital.

A third brother was apparently arrested in Belgium and questioned before being released.