France and Belgium are striving to establish the identities of the attackers and chief suspects in the attacks that killed at least 129 people in Paris on Friday November 13.

On Wednesday morning, elite police launched an assault on a flat in Saint Denis, north of Paris. The public prosecutor's office said during the operation a woman inside the flat blew herself up and police took three men into custody. They also detained a man and a woman, both unarmed, near the flat.

Following is a list of some of the attackers who died in the Friday attacks, as well as others central to the investigation.

Dead Attackers :

Ismail Omar Mostefai, 29 (born November 21, 1985), Frenchman of Algerian descent involved in Bataclan concert hall attack, lived for a time in Chartres area, southwest of Paris. Born in Courcouronnes, south of Paris. Source: prosecutor's office/judiciary sources. Name was put on French intelligence services' "S notice" in 2010 for reported radicalisation. An unnamed senior Turkish government official says Turkey contacted France about Mostefai in December 2014 and June 2015 but only got a return request for information on him after the Paris attacks.. Members of his family were released from custody after questioning.

Samy Amimour, 28 (born Oct. 15, 1987), involved in Bataclan attack. French, from Drancy near Saint Denis, north of Paris. Subject of international arrest warrant since late 2013. Had been under official investigation since October 2012 on suspicion of terrorism-related activity over a plan to go to Yemen. Source: Paris prosecutor's office statement.

Brahim Abdeslam, 31 (born July 30, 1984), French, resident of Belgium. Blew himself up at Comptoir Voltaire cafe in Paris. Brother of Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect still at large. Source: French judiciary. Bilal Hadfi, 20 (born Jan 22, 1995). Involved in Stade de France attack. Source: French judiciary. Other: Suicide bomber involved in Stade de France attack. Passport found beside this dead body carries name of Ahmad Al Mohammad, 25, (born Sept. 10 1990), from Idlib, northwest Syria. Passport being checked but fingerprints match up with print of a person registered under that name as arriving in Greece in October 2015. Source: French prosecutor's office. Other: Possible third, unnamed, suicide bomber who died in Stade de France attacks. Source: police notice showing photo and asking people to help identify the person.

Key Suspects At Large :

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Belgian, the suspected mastermind of the attacks. Source: French judiciary. Abaaoud is a resident of Molenbeek district of Brussels. Also named by media last year as 27-year-old elder brother of a 13-year-old boy who left Belgium to become a fighter in Syria.

Salah Abdeslam, 26, French, born in Brussels, Sept. 15, 1989. Source: notice published by French police/police sources. Suspected of having rented black VW Polo car used in attacks in Paris. Lawyer Xavier Carette told Belgian broadcaster RTBF that Abdeslam returned from Paris to Brussels on Saturday morning after being stopped by French police three times along the way. Abdeslam had called his client, Mohammad Amri, two hours after the attacks and said his car had broken down, Carette said. Amri drove through the night, accompanied by Hamza Attouh, to fetch him. Belgian media gave their ages as 27 and 21 respectively.

Detained: Belgium

Two of seven people arrested in November 14 raids were detained on terrorism charges. Lawyer Xavier Carette told RTBF his client Mohammad Amri and a friend were unwitting accomplices who knew nothing about any role in attacks when Amri drove Salah Abdeslam back from Paris to Brussels. Mohammad Abdeslam, brother of Salah and Brahim (dead), was among five released after preliminary questioning. Much of the attention has focussed on Molenbeek, a poor Brussels district that is home to many Muslim immigrants

France Police arrested 25 people in broad swoops on suspected Islamist militants on Sunday night. Several hundred police swoops have taken place, but no details yet released. Source: Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW