BRUSSELS (AP) – Investigators found the fingerprints of a Paris attacks suspect who has been on the run since November in a Brussels apartment they raided this week, a Belgian prosecutor said Friday.
Two people escaped from the dwelling in the Forest neighborhood of Brussels, but Belgian federal prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said it wasn’t yet known if Salah Abdeslam, 26, was one of them. He also said it hasn’t been established how old the fingerprints were, or how long Abdeslam spent in the apartment on the Rue Du Dries.
Abdeslam fled Paris after the Nov. 13 gun and bomb attacks that killed 130 people at a theatre, the national stadium and cafes. Most of the Paris attackers died that night, including Abdeslam’s brother Brahim, who blew himself up. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks, in which Belgian nationals played key roles.
Police who raided the Brussels apartment Tuesday found the banner of the Islamic State extremist group as well as 11 Kalashnikov loaders and a large quantity of ammunition, the prosecutor said.
A man was shot dead by a police sniper there as he prepared to open fire on police from a window. Police identified him as Mohamed Belkaid, 35, an Algerian national living illegally in Belgium.