Paris attacks: Salah Abdeslam 'refused to blow himself up'

Image copyrightBelgian/French policeImage captionAbdeslam was arrested in a dramatic raid in Brussels not far from his home

Surviving Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam chose not to blow himself up to save lives, his brother says.


Mohamed Abdeslam was speaking to French BFMTV after meeting Salah in his Belgian prison cell where he is awaiting extradition to France.

"There would have been more victims had I done it," Salah told him. "Luckily, I couldn't go through with it."

The gun and bomb attacks on a concert hall, a stadium, restaurants and bars on 13 November 2015 killed 130 people.

Abdeslam, 26, was arrested last month in Brussels four days before bomb attacks in Brussels killed 32 people.

Police believe the same militant network was behind attacks in both cities.

The French national, born in Belgium, had apparently been hiding in the Belgian capital for more than four months.

After his arrest, Abdeslam was initially questioned over his alleged role in the Paris attacks.

Culled from BBC