Paris terror suspect released from hospital

Paris terror suspect released from hospital

A suspect in the Paris terror attacks was released from a Belgium hospital Saturday, a day after a fierce gun-battle with authorities during his capture.

Terror suspect Salah Abdeslam was detained Friday in the Brussels’ suburb of Molenbeek.

A second man, Monir Ahmed Alaaj — also known as Amine Choukri, was also wounded, prosecutors said. Both men have been released from hospital, Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur tweeted without disclosing their location.

Three relatives who helped hide Abdeslam were detained as well, said Eric Van der Sypt, spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Abdeslam is a Belgian-born French citizen.

French President Francois Hollande said Paris prosecutors will seek his extradition to France for trial.

“I know the Belgian authorities will respond quickly and favorably to our request for extradition,” Hollande said.

The anti-terror operation Friday came after Salah Abdeslam’s fingerprints and DNA were found in a Brussels apartment raided three days earlier, authorities said.

One person was killed and two people escaped that operation, according to authorities.

The man killed by a special forces sniper was Mohamed Belkaid, an Algerian who used the name Samir Bouzid. He is believed to have directed the Paris attackers via calls from Belgium.

Belkaid helped Abdeslam travel prior to the attacks, a Belgian senior counter-terrorism official told CNN in January.

Authorities believe he was using the apartment as a hideout following the Paris attacks, according to the official.

His possible escape spurred an intense manhunt in a country on guard after last fall’s attacks in the French capital.

Police continued to conduct operations in Molenbeek into Saturday morning.

The impoverished Brussels suburb of Molenbeek has a reputation as a hotbed for jihadism.

Members of its large, predominantly Muslim population — many of them immigrants from North Africa — have been linked to terror plots and attacks.

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Belgium Paris terror suspect Salah Abdeslam

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