Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud is named by a French official as the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks, while two brothers from Molenbeek are at the centre of the police investigation.
The official said Abaaoud has been linked to thwarted attacks on a Paris-bound high-speed train and a church in the Paris area.
A manhunt has been launched for Salah Abdeslam, pictured above, who is believed to have been involved in the attacks in which 129 people were killed. Abdeslam, 26, is suspected of renting a car in Belgium used by terrorists. He was a municipal employee in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek.
His brother Ibrahim Abdeslam, 31, used to live in Molenbeek and was one of the suicide bombers on Friday on Boulevard Voltaire. At the beginning of the 2000s, Ibrahim and his brothers were detained by Belgian police because of drug trafficking and robbery.
According to several Belgian newspapers, he spent time in Syria. He opened a cafe in Molenbeek, which closed last autumn, because of drug-related problems (picture below).
A third brorther, Mohammed Abdeslam, was arrested in Molenbeek on Saturday at his family’s apartment, but according to his lawyer, was released today without charge.
Samy Amimour, 28, from Paris, was one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up at the Bataclan music hall, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
A 28-year-old Frenchman, he was known to French intelligence services. He was charged with terror offences in 2012 and was placed under judicial supervision. But he later disappeared and an international arrest warrant was issued for him. Three of his relatives were arrested early today, prosecutors said.
A suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the Stade de France, the country’s national sports stadium, was found with a Syrian passport bearing the name Ahmad Al Mohammad.
The 25-year-old was born in Idlib, a city in north-west Syria, and the Paris prosecutor’s office said fingerprints from the attacker match those of a person who travelled through Greece last month.
Another suicide bomber was named as 20-year-old Bilal Hadfi, one of three who attacked the Stade de France. He is said to have fought with Islamic State in Syria.
Ismael Mostefai, 29, was identified as another attacker. Previously flagged for links to Islamist radicalism, he was named by police after being identified through remains found at the Bataclan music hall.