Mar 31 2016 13:22:51
•Belgium, France to consider how to proceed with transfer
•Abdeslam formally confirmed he agrees with transfer to France
By Gaspard Sebag
(Bloomberg) --
Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam's transfer to France will go ahead after he said he didn't oppose the European arrest warrant issued against him, according to the Belgian federal prosecutor's office.
Abdeslam formally confirmed on Thursday he agreed to be transferred to France in front of a federal magistrate, the Belgian prosecutor said in an e-mailed statement.
"Belgian and French authorities will now consider jointly on how to proceed further in the execution of the transfer," according to the statement.
Abdeslam, the only surviving suspect in the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead, was captured in the Belgian capital two weeks ago. Days later, two explosions ripped through the Brussels airport departure hall and a third rocked a downtown subway station, killing more than 30 people.
Counter-terrorism forces are exploring multiple leads to track down those responsible and prevent further attacks. Belgian police are still looking for a suspect seen with the two suicide bombers at the Brussels airport.
French authorities yesterday charged terror suspect Reda Kriket with conspiring to commit terrorism after a police operation last week uncovered an arsenal of weapons and explosives at his apartment and foiled a possible attack.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Gaspard Sebag in Paris at gsebag@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net
Jones Hayden
