Paris terrorist was a Syrian refugee, says Greek government official

Greek officials said the passport of the man showed he was Syrian

AT LEAST one of the terrorists responsible for the slaughter of 129 people in the Paris terror attacks was a Syrian refugee, officials have claimed.

 

A Greek government official revealed the man, who died in the terror seige on the French capital, had passed through the southern European country last month.

A passport was found near the body of the gunman, which revealed he arrived in mainland Europe from the Greek island of Leros, suggesting he had made his way there by boat.

It has been revealed the man was one of the suicide bombers at the Stade de France. He was not known to the French authorities.

Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas, in charge of police forces in Greece, has released the following statement: "On the case of the Syrian passport found at the scene of the terrorist attack, we announce that the passport holder had passed from Leros on October 3 where he was identified based on EU rules.

 

Tens of thousands of migrants arrived at Greek islands from outside of the EU by boat this year

the passport holder had passed from Leros on October 3 where he was identified based on EU rules

Nikos Toskas



Huge passenger ferries transported migrants from islands like Leros to Athens



 



Tens of thousands of migrants arrived at Greek islands from outside of the EU by boat this year



"We will continue the painstaking and persistent effort to ensure the security of our country and Europe under difficult circumstances, insisting on complete identification of those arriving."

"We do not know if the passport was checked by other countries through which the holder likely passed."

As well as a Syrian passport, Egyptian documents were also found near some of the killers, it has been reported. 

Witnesses have described one of the attackers as white and of "European type".

Belgian police have arrested a number of people in Brussels suspected of being linked to the attacks, according to the country's justice minister Koen Geens.

French media reported three of the attackers were from the Molenbeek area of Belgium, where police raids were carried out today.

An eye-witness said one of the cars used by the terrorists had a Belgian numberplate. Another car is also believed to have a Belgian numberplate, French sources said.

Both vehicles were black.

Another of the terrorists, who carried out killings at the Bataclan theatre, is said to have been from the Paris suburb of Courcoronnes, 20 miles south of the French capital.

He was understood to have Islamic links and was known to the French authorities.

The French prosecutor said the 30-year-old had been arrested for eight minor offences in the country and was on the radicalisation watch list since 2010.

Courcouronnes is the same area as Amedy Coulibaly was from - the killer who was involved in January's Charlie Hebdo shootings before killing four hostages at a kosher supermarket nearby.nearby.

 

France has declared a three-day period of mourning following the killings

Coulibaly was then killed by police.

Following the terror attacks on Paris last night, Islamic State (ISIS) members on Twitter claimed responsibility for the killings.