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Austria hands over Paris attacks ‘accomplices’

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Austria has handed over to France two suspected members of the same Islamic State cell that massacred 130 people in Paris last November, prosecutors said Friday.

The Algerian and Pakistani men, Adel Haddadi, 29 and Mohamad Usman Gani, 35, were arrested in Austria on December 10 at a centre for refugees.

Investigators believe they travelled to the Greek island of Leros on October 3 on the same boat full of refugees with two men who took part in the November 13 attacks.

Those two, thought to be Iraqis, blew themselves up outside the Stade de France, one of a series of brazen assaults by around 10 people around the French capital.

But Haddadi and Usman were held up, detained by Greek authorities for 25 days because they had falsified Syrian passports.

Once let go, they followed the main migrant trail and made it to Salzburg in western Austria at the end of November -- after the Paris attacks.

Austrian police commandos then arrested them at a migrant centre a few hours after French authorities informed them they could be in the country.

After his arrest, Haddadi told investigators that he wanted to go to France to "carry out a mission," according to a statement seen by AFP.

A source close to the investigation said that Haddadi "was meant to take part in the Paris killings with his travelling companions."

After France filed a European arrest warrant, a court in Salzburg approved at the beginning of July the transfer of the two men to France.

Prosecutors said on Friday that both have now "left the country".

Usman is reportedly thought to be a bomb maker for Pakistani extremist organisations including Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India holds Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda, responsible for attacks in 2008 in Mumbai that killed 166 people.

Usman unsuccessfully appealed against his transfer from Austria, saying he would not get a fair trial in France and that he feared for his safety.

Salzburg prosecutors added Friday that two more men, a Moroccan and an Algerian arrested eight days after the others, remained in custody.

In December prosecutors had said that the men, aged 25 and 40 at the time, were being held "because of indications of close contact" with the two now transferred to France.

Austria has handed over to France two suspected members of the same Islamic State cell that massacred 130 people in Paris last November, prosecutors said Friday.

The Algerian and Pakistani men, Adel Haddadi, 29 and Mohamad Usman Gani, 35, were arrested in Austria on December 10 at a centre for refugees.

Investigators believe they travelled to the Greek island of Leros on October 3 on the same boat full of refugees with two men who took part in the November 13 attacks.

Those two, thought to be Iraqis, blew themselves up outside the Stade de France, one of a series of brazen assaults by around 10 people around the French capital.

But Haddadi and Usman were held up, detained by Greek authorities for 25 days because they had falsified Syrian passports.

Once let go, they followed the main migrant trail and made it to Salzburg in western Austria at the end of November — after the Paris attacks.

Austrian police commandos then arrested them at a migrant centre a few hours after French authorities informed them they could be in the country.

After his arrest, Haddadi told investigators that he wanted to go to France to “carry out a mission,” according to a statement seen by AFP.

A source close to the investigation said that Haddadi “was meant to take part in the Paris killings with his travelling companions.”

After France filed a European arrest warrant, a court in Salzburg approved at the beginning of July the transfer of the two men to France.

Prosecutors said on Friday that both have now “left the country”.

Usman is reportedly thought to be a bomb maker for Pakistani extremist organisations including Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India holds Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda, responsible for attacks in 2008 in Mumbai that killed 166 people.

Usman unsuccessfully appealed against his transfer from Austria, saying he would not get a fair trial in France and that he feared for his safety.

Salzburg prosecutors added Friday that two more men, a Moroccan and an Algerian arrested eight days after the others, remained in custody.

In December prosecutors had said that the men, aged 25 and 40 at the time, were being held “because of indications of close contact” with the two now transferred to France.

AFP
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With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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