Six new raids are underway near the Belgian capital of Brussels, France’s chief prosecutor has confirmed, as France seeks to extend the state of emergency introduced after last week’s deadly attacks.
The raids are connected to a suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the Stade de France during the series of coordinated attacks that killed 129 people across Paris.
“They are linked to Bilal Hadfi,” the prosecutor told AFP news agency, adding the raids targeted places involving Hadfi’s family, friends and other people directly linked to him.
Investigators said Hadfi was a French national who was living in Belgium and had spent time in Syria.
“It’s a case which has already existed in 2015, following Mr Hadfi’s departure for Syria,” a source in the prosecutor’s office said.
Police also detained one person in a separate raid in Laeken, a suburb north-west of Brussels, in connection with the Paris attacks but not with Hadfi, the source added.
The person’s role in the attacks “remains to be seen,” the source said.