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Two French police officials have told The Associated Press that Salah Abdeslam, the main fugitive from Islamic extremist attacks in Paris in November, has been arrested in Belgium's capital after four months at large. (March 18) AP
Armed Belgian police forces are seen at the sealed off scene during an anti-terror operation in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels, Belgium, on 18 March, 2016. M(Photo: Laurent Dubrule, EPA)
Salah<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Abdeslam, the main fugitive from November's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Paris terror attack, was shot and captured<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Friday in a raid by heavily armed police on an apartment in a Brussels suburb, according to French and Belgian officials.
Abdeslam was wounded in the knee in the operation, according to the deputy<span style="color: Red;">*</span>mayor of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Molenbeek where the raid took place. He said the Belgian federal prosecutor's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>office confirmed Abdeslam's capture.
Ahmed El Khannouss also told<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The Associated Press that police were<span style="color: Red;">*</span>still searching for one person who was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>holed up in a house.
In Paris, French president Francois Hollande confirmed that the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>operation was linked to the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Paris attacks and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said on Twitter,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"Congratulations to the forces of order that allowed the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, during a police operation in Brussels,".
The four-month search for Abdeslam went into high gear on Tuesday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>after two men were seen fleeing a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>police raid<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on an apartment in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Forest<span style="color: Red;">*</span>neighborhood of Brussels.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Abdeslam's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>fingerprints and DNA were found at the site,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>raising the suspicion he was among the pair that had escaped.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>One person was killed in the operation.
On Friday, as the search intensified in the Brussels area, police outfitted with helmets<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and armor<span style="color: Red;">*</span>descended on an apartment in Mollenbeek, the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>suburb where Abdeslam grew up. He was shot and captured after an lengthy gun battle.
This undated file photo provided by the Belgian Federal Police shows 26-year old Salah Abdeslam, who is wanted by police in connection with the November terror attacks in Paris.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Belgian Federal Police via AP)
Abdeslam<span style="color: Red;">*</span>has been on the run since gunmen went on a shooting spree in November at cafes,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a rock concert and a stadium in Paris,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>killing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>130 people. Islamic State militants have claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Most of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>terrorists<span style="color: Red;">*</span>died that night, including Abdeslam’s brother Brahim, who blew himself up. French officials said Salah was among the original terrorists, but<span style="color: Red;">*</span>discarded his suicide vest and cellphone and fled the city.
USA TODAY
Police: One suspect dead in Brussels anti-terror raid
Abdeslam was almost captured that same night, but managed to slip through<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>checkpoint on the highway between the
French capital and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Brussels.
In Tuesday's raid in Brussels, Mohamed Belkaid, a 35-year-old Algerian, was killed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>by a police sniper as he prepared to fire on police, according to Thierry Werts, a Belgian prosecutor, the AP reported. A Kalashnikov was found by his body, as well as a book on Salafism, an ultraconservative strain of Islam.
Police also found an Islamic State banner as well as 11 Kalashnikov loaders and a large quantity of ammunition, the prosecutor said. The search of another residence in the area turned up another Kalashnikov as well as two loaded magazines, Belgian officials said.
Four police officers were wounded in the joint French-Belgian operation.
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