Alleged Jewish Museum shooter accomplices detained in Marseilles

Police in Marseilles have detained five people for questioning in connection with the shootings at the Jewish Museum in Brussels last May, which left four dead.

The man suspected of firing the shots, French national Mehdi Nemmouche, was arrested in Marseilles a week after the attack and is in prison in Bruges awaiting trial. Last week his detention was extended by a court for a further three months.

The five include three men and two women who are suspected of having helped Nemmouche, though details have not been released, according to French news channel BFM TV, which reported the arrests.

This is the first time anyone but Nemmouche has been accused of involvement in the attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium. Nemmouche is known to have stayed in Brussels and in Kortrijk before the shooting, but until now, no other suspects have been mentioned.

When Nemmouche was arrested in Marseilles, he was still in possession of the gun alleged to have been used in the attack, as well as ammunition, an IS flag and a video in which he talks about the shootings.

The Brussels prosecutor’s office stressed that the arrests in France is part of an investigation being carried out by the French authorities and is not currently linked to the Brussels case.

photo: French Imams President Hassen Chalghoumi (far left) and leaders from both the Jewish and Muslim communities take part in a commemoration for victims of the shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels

©Laurent Dubrule/REUTERS