Anti-terrorism raids across France as hunt for Salah Abdeslam continues

Fast-moving events. From the Guardian. Now we have elements of Inspector Clouseau.If you have any inclination to believe this I suggest you go HERE first

Paris attacks: anti-terrorism raids across France as hunt for Salah Abdeslam continues – live

Paris attack suspect was let go by police

The man at the centre of an intense manhunt in France and Belgium over the Paris attacks was stopped by police and let go, just hours after more than 100 people were killed.

Radio NZ,

16 November, 2015, 03:30 British Time

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday night's attacks which killed 129 people and injured 352, with 99 people in a critical condition.

The attackers opened fire and used explosive devices at seven locations across Paris, including a concert hall, restaurants, bars and outside a stadium.

 

Police NationaleVerified account‏@PNationale

[AppelàTémoin] La #PJ recherche 1 individu susceptible d'être impliqué ds les attentats du 13/11/2015 #ParisAttacks

France's Police Nationale has issued an appeal for witnesses as they search for Abdeslam Salah, 26, who they called dangerous and said should not be approached.

French authorities have now revealed officers stopped a car heading towards the Belgian border which was carrying Salah, but apparently let him go after checking his ID.

The first of seven dead attackers was earlier named as Ismail Mostefai. Six people close to him are in custody. Two attackers were French nationals living in Belgium, prosecutors said.

Mostefai was reportedly identified after investigators found a severed finger at the scene of the worst atrocity, the Bataclan concert hall.

He came from the town of Courcouronnes, south of Paris, and had lived in the city of Chartres 100km south-west of Paris until 2012 and had regularly attended a mosque there.

French judicial sources said several Kalashnikovs had been found in an abandoned car believed to have been used by some of the Paris attackers.

The black Seat car was found in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil on Sunday, suggesting some of the attackers got way.

The car was believed to have been used by gunmen who opened fire on people in restaurants on Friday, police say.

Several AK47 rifles were found in the car, French media quote judicial sources as saying.

The Seat and another car used in the attacks - a Volkswagen Polo - were rented in Belgium. The black VW was found near the Bataclan concert venue, where nearly 90 people were killed.

Kalashnikovs were found in a car in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil. Photo: AFP

One of the Paris attackers lived in Brussels and another in the nearby town of Molenbeek, Belgian prosecutors said on Sunday, without naming either. A total of seven men have been arrested in Molenbeek, they dded.

It is widely believed now that at least one of the attackers managed to get away from the scene - possibly the person who rented a car - and he is now the focus of an intensive manhunt.

Paris chief prosecutor Francois Molins said on Saturday there were probably three co-ordinated teams of terrorists behind this barbaric act.

"We have to find out where they came from... and how they were financed."

Notre Dame service

A memorial service for the victims of the weekend's terror attacks on Paris was held at Notre Dame cathedral this morning.

At the same time, thousands of people gathered around shrines to the victims in a show of solidarity.

A false alarm sent those in the streets scattering when they thought they heard gunshots, showing how much on edge people remain in the city, 48 hours after the attacks.

The archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, said the French capital had been hit with particular savagery.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said most of the bodies had been identified and that the process should be completed in the coming hours.

A Syrian passport, found near the body of one of the attackers at the Stade de France, had been used to travel through the Greek island of Leros last month, Greek officials have confirmed.

Serbia says the holder of that passport had also crossed its border from Macedonia and sought asylum at one of its registration centres.

No direct link has yet been made with the holder of the passport and the attackers.

Meanwhile, an expert on Islamic State says the level of sophistication of the Paris attacks suggests it was centrally organized.

Will McCants - the director of the Brookings Institution's Project on US Relations with the Islamic World - told Nine To Noon it was still not known if Islamic State central in Syria and Iraq organized the attacks, but there were indications of chatter between the attackers and the defacto headquarters of the Islamic State before the attack.

He said it may be one of a series of attacks over the last few weeks co-ordinated by Islamic State central.

"And if that's the case, it's very worrisome because they're not just an insurgent group, they control a lot of territory and control a lot of financial resources that they can dedicate to foreign operations."

Mr McCants said the Paris attacks would mean it was much more difficult for Syrian refugees to enter countries of the European Union, and border controls will be tightened

Now we have elements of Inspector Clouseau