Three Belgian hideouts identified in Paris attacks investigation

Investigators in Belgium have now identified three properties believed to have been used by the suspects in the 13 November Paris terror attacks.

The Belgian federal prosecutor has confirmed that an apartment in Charleroi was rented under a false identity and is thought to have been used as a meeting point for the Abdeslam brothers and Abdelhamid Abaaoud on 12 November before they headed to the French capital to commit the attacks.

Two other homes were also rented under fake names in nearby Auvelais and in the Brussels commune of Schaerbeek, the federal prosecutor added. In all three cases, the rent and deposit were paid in cash.

The Charleroi property was raided on 9 December and fingerprints were found belonging to Bilal Hadfi and Abdelahmid Abaaoud, but no weapons or explosives. The property was rented under the false name of Ibrahim Maaroufi for a one-year period from September 2015.

The apartment in Schaerbeek was rented under the fake identity of Castillo Fernando, again for a year from September 2015, and was raided on 10 December, the prosecutor added, with police seizing explosive belts as well as finding fingerprints of Salah Abdeslam and Bilal Hadfi.

The third property, in Auvelais, was rented under the false name Soufiane Kayal in October 2015 for a year and was raided on 26 November.