Germany is Hunting Suspect linked to Paris Attacks Mastermind
December 11, 2015 in GermanyGerman media reports indicated on Friday that German security services are searching for a man who is wanted in connection with last month’s terror attacks in Paris, France.
According to sources, the 42-year-old man, who has been only named as Huseyin D, is believed to have spent time with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged organizer of the attacks. German newspaper Der Spiegel, which carried a photo alleged to be of Huseyin D with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, has indicated that the suspect is believed to be in Turkey. Huseyin D is reportedly from Dinslaken, in northwestern Germany, and was part of a group that had travelled to Syria. Abaaoud was killed in a gun battle with police just days after the attacks, which were claimed by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group. The 13 November Paris attacks killed 130 people and prompted a Europe-wide security alert.
Meanwhile in another development, German prosecutors disclosed that they raided the flat of a man suspected of possibly helping plan an attack on last month’s Germany-Netherlands football match. The Hannover stadium was evacuated just under two hours before kick-off. At the time, police disclosed that the decision to evacuate was made after a “concrete security threat.”
While German police gave no details of Thursday’s raid, and no arrests were made, De Spiegel has reported that the suspected 19-year-old student believed to have made a short video at the stadium in which he says “pray for Raqqa” and the Islamic State group’s name.
Two men linked to the Paris attacks – Salah Abdeslam and Mohammed Abrini – remain on the run and investigations have been launched in several European states. Furthermore, Belgian prosecutors are also seeking two other men thought to have helped Abdeslam travel to Hungary in September.