The top suspect in the terror attacks on Paris last year was discharged from a hospital in Brussels Saturday and will face official questioning and a fast-track extradition to France.

After an emergency defense council meeting at the presidential palace in Paris, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called Saleh Abdeslam capture in the Molenbeek area of Brussels Friday “an important blow to the terrorist organization Daesh in Europe.” 

“Currently in police custody with four individuals, Salah Abdeslam will have to answer to French justice for his acts. The demand for justice is what all the families of the victims are waiting for, along with all other French citizens. The government is determined to get to the bottom of what happened. It is an important blow to the terrorist organization DAESH in Europe.”

Cazeneuve said that France would continue to equip law enforcement and keep security tight, as the threat level remains extremely high, adding that France “must maintain the vigilance in proportion to the threat level.”

Abdeslam’s capture

Abdeslam and a suspected accomplice were injured when they were captured by police Friday.

WATCH: Video footage of Salah Abdeslam’s capture in Brussels

The international police agency (Interpol) called on countries to be extra vigilant at their borders, saying accomplices of Abdeslam may try to flee Europe after his capture.

In a statement Saturday, Interpol recommended tighter border controls, especially for stolen passports. Many of the November 13 attackers and accomplices traveled on falsified or stolen documents.

Belgian and French officials have said they believed other accomplices could still be at large.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel called Friday’s capture of Abdeslam “an important result in the battle for democracy.”

Michel, along with French President Francois Hollande, spoke to reporters in Brussels Friday after the arrest. Hollande was in Brussels for a meeting of European Union leaders.

4-Month-Long Manhunt Ends

A spokesman for the Belgian prosecutors office said police in Germany had questioned both Abdeslam and Choukri in October. They took Choukri’s fingerprints which later found in a Belgian safe house used by the terrorists. Police later found a fake Syrian passport and fake Belgian identity card bearing the man’s two different names.

Three other people were arrested during Friday’s raid; prosecutors identified them as members of a family that hid Abdeslam.

The arrests bring to an end a four-month manhunt.  

Abdeslam has been the chief target in an intense hunt for suspects and associates of the militants who carried out the .  November 13th terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. His older brother, Brahim, was among the suicide bombers who killed themselves during the rampage.

It is unclear if French-Moroccan Abdelslam has remained in Brussels since November.

Size of terror network

Since mid-November, 11 people have been arrested and charged in Belgium in connection with the killings. Eight are still in detention.  The attacks were prepared and coordinated, in part, in Brussels.

French and Belgian leaders praised the cooperation between the two countries leading to the arrests, but warned the terrorist threat remains. French President Francois Hollande said his country would issue an extradition request for Abdeslam.

Hollande said the investigation revealed that many more people were involved in the attacks than authorities originally believed in a network that spanned several countries.

 

Paris Assailants, Suspects Where Are They Now?

Status: Captured

Name: Salah Abdeslam

Background: French national born in Belgium

Investigation: Considered eighth attacker; believed to be driver of car outside the Bataclan

Status: Dead

Name: Abdelhamid Abaaoud

Background: Belgian of Moroccan origin

Investigation: Ringleader of Paris attacks

Name: Ibrahim Abdeslam

Background: French citizen

Investigation: Suicide bomber at cafe on Boulevard Voltaire; brother of Salah Abdeslam

Name: Samy Amimour

Background: Born in Paris

Investigation: One of three suicide bombers at Bataclan concert hall

Name: Bilal Hadfi

Status: Dead

Background: Nationality unknown, living in Belgium prior to attacks

Investigation: One of three suicide bombers at soccer stadium

Name: Ismael Omar Mostefai

Background: Chartres, France

Investigation: Suicide bomber at Bataclan concert hall

Name: Ahmad al Muhammad (falsified name)

Background: Unknown; emergency passport said he was from Syria

Investigation: Suicide bomber at soccer stadium; emergency passport found on his body

Name: Unknown

Background: Unknown

Investigation: Suicide bomber at soccer stadium; carried falsified Turkish passport

Name: Unknown

Background: Unknown

Investigation: Suicide bomber at Bataclan concert hall; has not yet been identified
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