Paris: A day after Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam was arrested in Brussels, he told the police that he was supposed to blow himself up at the Stade de France but backed out at the last minute.
French public prosecutor, François Molins, had confirmed that Abdeslam had been a key member of the group who carried out a series of bombings and shootings in Paris city on November 13 last year but stressed that alleged confession should be treated with care and needed to be double checked.
Abdeslam has been charged with terrorism offences after being arrested in a raid in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek in Friday.
Abdeslam’s lawyer said that he would fight his extradition to France but was collaborating with the Belgian investigators.
Speaking at a press conference in Paris on Saturday, Molins said that Abdeslam’s claim raised questions about his presence in 18th arrondissement of Paris on the evening of the attacks, after dropping off three other jihadis at the football stadium.
Three suicide bombers blew themselves after being denied entry, while French President François Hollande was inside the stadium.
” Salah Abdeslam is a key actor in the attacks in Paris and St Denis ( Stade de France). He had a central role in the make-up of the commandos and in the logistical planning of the 13 November attacks,” Guardian quoted Molins as saying.
Abdeslam’s hideout came as a surprise as despite one of Europe’s biggest manhunts following the Paris attacks, he returned home in Molenbeek, where his parents still live.
He has been charged with participation in terrorist murder and in the activities of a terrorist organisation.
An accomplice arrested with him, believed to be Amine Choukri, has been similarly charged.
At least 130 people were killed in the deadly Paris attack last November (ANI)