(27 Mar 2016) 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.
They said he was arrested March 18th in a major police operation in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek.
Both officials are in contact with people involved in the operation and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing operation.
Abdeslam was among several attackers who targeted cafes, a rock concert and a stadium in Paris' deadliest attacks in decades, which killed 130 people.
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The deputy mayor of the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek says he has received confirmation from the Belgian federal prosecutor's office that Paris attacks fugitive Salah Abdeslam has been shot in the leg and detained.
He said police are still searching for one person who is holed up in a house.
An explosion was heard in the Molenbeek neighbourhood on the evening of March 18th.
Abdeslam has been on the run since the November attacks that killed 130 people. Molenbeek is home to several people involved in the attacks.
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Explosions, at least one likely caused by a suicide bomber, rocked Brussels' airport and metro system on March 22nd, prompting a lockdown of the Belgian capital and heightened security across Europe.
At least 28 people were reported dead.
A heavy police and military presence was visible outside the Maelbeek metro station, which is located near the European Union's headquarters.
A spokesman for the Brussels Metro said 15 people were killed and 55 injured in an explosion on a train.
Belgian media reported at least 13 were killed in two explosions at Brussels' Zavantem airport, with many others injured.
Belgium raised its terror alert to the highest level, diverting planes and trains and ordering people to stay where they were.
Airports across Europe immediately tightened security.
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Attackers detonated bombs at the airport and on a metro train beneath the European Union's capital on March 22nd, killing at least 26 people.
Two explosions, at least one likely caused by a suicide bomber, hit the departures area of Brussels' Zaventem airport during the busy morning rush, collapsing the ceiling and sending panicked travellers rushing for cover.
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Bombs exploded at the Brussels airport and one of the city's metro stations March 22nd, killing at least 31 people and wounding dozens, as a European capital was again locked down amid heightened security threats.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The two airport blasts, at least one of them blamed on a suicide bomber, left behind a chaotic scene of splattered blood in the departure lounge as windows were blown out and ceilings collapsed.
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Belgian police officers were seen helping a bomb disposal unit member into his suit before other officers entered a block of flats in Brussels on March 25th.
Belgian state media reported that two explosions had been heard and one person detained in police raids in the Brussels neighbourhood of Schaerbeek.
It was not clear whether the raids were linked to the investigation into deadly attacks on Brussels' airport and subway system.
At least one suspect in those attacks is at large, and it is unclear whether there were other accomplices.
State broadcaster RTBF said multiple police operations were under way in Schaerbeek, and one person had been detained.
It said one explosion was heard at the start of the operation and cited witnesses describing gunfire.
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