French police officers seen outside the Rue du Corbillon building in Saint-Denis, northern Paris suburb on 19 November, 2015.(Photo: CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON, EPA)
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday warned that France could face chemical or biological terror attacks, as Belgian security forces launched six raids in Brussels in connection with last week's deadly assaults in Paris.
Valls was speaking in parliament before lawmakers voted for a three-month<span style="color: Red;">*</span>extension to the state of emergency<span style="color: Red;">*</span>after 129 people were killed Friday in a series of attacks by the Islamic State. He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>did not say there was a specific threat of such an attack.
"We must not rule anything out. I say it with all the precautions needed. But we know and bear in mind that there is also a risk of chemical or bacteriological weapons," Valls said. "The macabre imagination of the masterminds is limitless."
Belgian<span style="color: Red;">*</span>prosecutors<span style="color: Red;">*</span>told AFP and other media<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that the Brussels raids were taking place in areas including the Molenbeek neighborhood, which several of the suspects have links to. The official<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said the raids centered on the family, friends and others linked to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bilal Hadfi, 20, who has been named as one of the suicide bombers at the Stade de France, or national stadium.
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Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel announced $427 million of anti-terror measures Thursday following the attacks.
He said the money will go towards increasing the numbers of security officials, and eradicating hate messages. He also wants to amend the constitution to extend the length of time terror suspects can be held by police without charge.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Thursday called on the international community to do more to eradicate the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>He told France-Inter radio that ISIL "is a monster. But if all the countries in the world aren't capable of fighting against 30,000 (ISIL members), it's incomprehensible."
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Speaking at the European Parliament on Thursday, Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, said the attacks<span style="color: Red;">*</span>were “a clear statement of intent by ISIS to export its brutal brand of terrorism to Europe.”
On Wednesday, police raided the Paris suburb of Saint Denis in an operation that targeted Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, the suspected mastermind of the attacks. Two suspects were killed, including a female suicide bomber who blew herself up as police closed in, and several<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people were arrested. Authorities said an imminent attack was thwarted.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Abaaoud was not arrested, and the dead suspects have not been identified.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Multiple media organizations, citing unnamed sources close to the French investigation, said Abaaoud's cousin may have been the female suicide bomber.
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