Zimpapers Logo

Friday’s attacks by Islamist militants in Paris were planned and organised from Syria, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said.

He added that the authorities believed new terror attacks were being planned in France and other European countries. Mr Valls also said 150 raids on suspected militants had been carried out across France early on Monday. A total of 129 people died in the attacks on bars and restaurants, a concert hall and the Stade de France.

France is to hold a nationwide minute of silence at midday local time (11:00 GMT) out of respect for the victims. A huge manhunt is under way for surviving members and accomplices of the Islamist group that carried out the attack.

After Paris: Fighting Islamic State

Who were the victims?

Police have named Brussels-born Salah Abdeslam, 26, as a key suspect. He was reportedly stopped by officers in the wake of the attacks – but then let go.
Meanwhile, French aircraft have attacked Raqqa, the stronghold in Syria of the Islamic State group, which has said it carried out the attacks.

Mr Valls said that France was dealing with a “terrorist army”, rather than a single terrorist group.

“We know that operations were being prepared and are still being prepared, not only against France but other European countries too,” he said, quoted by AFP news agency.

The prime minister said more than 150 raids on militant targets in different areas of France early on Monday.

“We are making use of the legal framework of the state of emergency to question people who are part of the radical jihadist movement… and all those who advocate hate of the republic,” he said.

Police sources told news agencies that properties in the Paris suburb of Bobigny, as well as the cities of Grenoble, Toulouse and Lyon, had been targeted.
Reports said large amounts of weapons were found and several people arrested.

Seven attackers died in the assault on the French capital, most of them after detonating suicide belts.

Salah Abdeslam, the man named by police as a key suspect, is said to have rented a VW Polo car that was found near the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people died, and believed to have been used by attackers.

On Saturday he was in a vehicle with two other men near the Belgian border when it was stopped by police, officials said, but was released after checks.
Belgian police again stopped the car in the Molenbeek area of Brussels, but he was no longer inside, France’s Le Monde newspaper reported.
It is unclear whether the French authorities had matched the VW Polo found at the Bataclan venue to him at the time he was stopped.

Police have described Salah Abdeslam as dangerous, and warned people not to approach him. One of the main lines of investigation concerns the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek. One of Abdeslam’s brothers, Mohammed, was reportedly arrested arrested there when he returned from Paris.

He remains in custody. Belgian police say they have made a total of seven arrests. Belgium’s Premier Charles Michel said the Belgian authorities would crack down on Molenbeek, which has a reputation as being a haven for jihadists.-BBC