Suspect being sought for Paris attacks named

Belgian prosecutors have named one of two men still being sought in connection with the November 13th Paris attacks as they met with French counterparts following the arrest of prime suspect Salah Abdeslam after four months on the run. Najim Laachraoui (24), whose nationality has not been given, is reported to have travelled to Syria in 2013.

He was travelling with Mr Abdeslam under his alias Soufiane Kayal in September 2015 when their Mercedes was stopped at the Hungarian border with Austria. Also in the car was Mohammed Belkaid, who was shot dead by a police sniper during a raid in the Brussels suburb of Forest last Tuesday, an operation that led to Mr Abdeslam's capture a few days later.

Fresh footage of the capture was broadcast on Monday by French news channel iTélé.

A second suspect still being sought has already been named as Mohamed Abrini (31), a Belgian national and childhood friend of Mr Abdeslam in Brussels.

The identification of Mr Laachraoui came before the French president, François Hollande, and his justice minister met families of the victims of the attacks at the Élysée Palace on Monday afternoon. Mr Hollande faced questions about why it took so long to find Mr Abdeslam (26), a suspected member of the 10-man team that carried out the Paris attacks. Mr Abdeslam has allegedly told Belgian police he was supposed to blow himself up at the Stade de France stadium on November 13th, but backed out.

French officials and police, and their Belgian counterparts, are facing criticism over how they lost trace of Mr Abdeslam in the hours after the attacks that left 130 dead.

He was captured in another Brussels suburb, Molenbeek, on Friday, the day after the funeral of his brother, Brahim (31), who blew himself up at the Comptoir Voltaire cafe on November 13th, seriously injuring a waitress.

Mr Abdeslam is being held in isolation in a high-security prison in Bruges, Belgium, and is expected to appear before a judge on Wednesday, when the court will order his continued detention. French media reported on Monday that he had been in hiding in Belgium for four months since leaving Paris late on November 13th.

He is fighting extradition to France, but could be surrendered to Paris under the terms of a European arrest warrant. This could take up to 90 days.

Sven Mary, Mr Abdeslam's Belgian lawyer, said his client "is collaborating and is communicating".

– Guardian service