Paris terror attacks 'were prepared in Belgium'

The Paris terror attacks that killed 129 people and injured 352 were "prepared in Belgium", France's interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced on Sunday.

The confirmed connection with Belgium came as more police raids were carried out on the Brussels district of Molenbeek on Sunday evening. Seven people have been arrested in Belgium since Friday's attacks.

French police are urgently trying to find Abdeslam Salah, a 26-year-old man born in Brussels, who is wanted in connection with the terror investigation. Police described him as "dangerous" and should not be approached in person.

The Belgian government plans to take new measures to combat the “gigantic problem” of Belgians returning to the country after having fought in Syria, prime minister Charles Michel said this weekend. Michel was responding to news that the attacks in Paris on Friday night once more showed a link to Brussels.

Authorities in Paris have confirmed that two of the gunmen, both French nationals, spent time living in Brussels-City and in Molenbeek. On Saturday police carried out a number of house searches, and five people were arrested, according to mayor Françoise Schepmans. One of the men arrested had allegedly been in Paris on Friday, the prime minister’s office said.

“There is a link to Molenbeek in almost every incident,” the prime minister told the weekend political programme De Zevende Dag on Sunday. The discussion on the problem of fighters returning from Syria follows home affairs minister Jan Jambon's comments last week that the complex structure of Brussels politics – 19 mayors and local authorities and six police zones for a population barely exceeding one million people – made it “weakest link” in Europe’s fight against terrorism.

Michel said that measures have been taken against radicalisation, but the preventive strategy implemented until now would have to be joined by more repressive measures. “There are two possibilities,” he said. “Either we do nothing more and risk more danger, or we attempt a global approach supported by a diplomatic and a humanitarian aspect – and perhaps also a military side. We have to find the most balanced approach.”

Jambon, meanwhile, pointed out that Belgium is so far the only country in Europe where rebel fighters returning from Syria must appear in court. “And more trials will happen,” he said. Federal police chief Catherine De Bolle, however, said that it was impossible to keep tabs on all former jihadists.

“There are 474 Belgians with links to the fighting in Syria, about 130 of whom have returned, 77 of whom were killed and about 200 who are still there,” she said. “There are also those who come back disillusioned. Every one of them requires a different approach. We are trying to match the measures we take to each fighter. But we’re unable to follow every single one 24 hours a day.”

Brussels will this week host an emergency meeting of EU ministers of justice and home affairs to discuss the question of international terrorism. Belgian justice minister Koen Geens announced that Belgium’s border controls had been intensified at the weekend. France closed its borders following the attack, with special checks for rail passengers arriving in the Gare du Nord from Belgium.

Foreign affairs minister Didier Reynders advised all Belgians to cancel planned trips to France and to return as soon as possible if already there.

Three Belgians are known to be among the fatalities of the attacks on Friday, a spokesperson for the foreign affairs ministry confirmed. There are no Belgians among the seriously injured.

On Monday at 12.00, citizens across Europe are being asked to observe a minute of silence for the victims of Friday's terror attacks in Paris, according to a joint statement from the Heads of State and Government of the European Union and the presidents of the European institutions.

"This is an attack against us all,” they write. “We will face this threat together with all necessary means and ruthless determination.”