Abaaoud DNA appears to match evidence gathered in Athens
Evidence confirming that the alleged mastermind of the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, 27-year-old Abdelhamid Abaaoud, passed through Athens, seems to have emerged during an investigation, Kathimerini understands.
According to sources, a DNA sample sent by French authorities to their Greek counterparts appears to match an entry registered with Greek Police’s database. The sample was forwarded by France to several European countries after Abaaoud, a Belgian of Moroccan descent, was killed during a police operation in Saint Denis, northern Paris on November 18.
Greek authorities were asked to search for Abaaoud in Athens in January after his mobile phone was traced. However, their search only led to the arrest of an Algerian man, who was deported to Belgian on suspicion of terrorist links.
On Monday, it also emerged that Salah Abdeslam, another suspected Paris attacker, had travelled through Italy in August. According to sources, he was not considered a threat at the time and was travelling with a fellow Belgian national of Moroccan origin. The latter was arrested in Turkey in the aftermath of the attacks on suspicion of being involved in the Paris attacks.
Abdeslam, whose brother, Brahim, blew himself up in Paris on the night of the attacks, has been on the run since that day.
Meanwhile, Cyprus was expected to deport six French nationals to Switzerland, after they were detained at Larnaca airport last week and investigated for possible terrorist activity, Cypriot authorities said on Monday.
The death toll from the November 13 attacks in the French capital was 130 people.
