Salah Abdeslam is ‘worth his weight in gold’ says his lawyer

The only suspected participant in the November 13 Paris attacks to be captured alive has been co-operating with police investigators and is “worth his weight in gold”, his lawyer said.

Belgium’s interior minister, Jan Jambon, said the country was on high alert for a possible revenge attack, following the capture of 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam in a flat in Brussels, on Friday.

“We know that stopping one cell can... push others into action. We are aware of it, in this case,” Mr Jambon told public radio.

French investigator Francois Molins told a news conference in Paris on Saturday that Mr Abdeslam had admitted to investigators that he had wanted to blow himself up, along with others, at the Stade de France on the night of the attack by Islamic State (IS), but he backed out.

Mr Abdeslam’s lawyer, Sven Mary, said he would sue Molins for making the comment public, calling it a violation of judicial confidentiality.

Mr Mary said Mr Abdeslam was fully co-operating with investigators.

“I think that Salah Abdeslam is of prime importance for this investigation,” he said. “I would even say he is worth his weight in gold. He is collaborating. He is communicating. He is not maintaining his right to remain silent.”

As the only suspected participant or planner of the Paris attack in police custody, Mr Abdeslam could be a major source of information on others involved in support networks, in finance, and linked with IS in Syria.

There would also be urgent interest in finding out what further attacks might be planned.

Belgian prosecutors said they were looking for Najim Laachraoui, 25, who is using the false name of Soufiane Kayal.

His DNA had been found in houses in Belgium used by the Paris attackers.

The federal prosecutor’s office said they are seeking details about Mr Laachraoui, who is said to have travelled to Syria in February, 2013.

It said Laachraoui was checked by guards at the Austria-Hungary border while driving in a Mercedes with Mr Abdeslam and one other person.

Mr Laachraoui is said to have rented a house under the name of Soufiane Kayal, in the Belgian town of Auvelais, which was allegedly used as a safe house. Prosecutors said traces of his DNA were found there.

Belgian foreign minister Didier Reynders said Mr Abdeslam may have been plotting more operations, drawing on weapons found in the Forest district of Brussels, and a network of associates.

Mr Jambon said he could not confirm that, but it was a possibility.

“After 18 months of dealing with this terrorist issue, I have learned that when the terrorists and weapons are in the same place, and that’s what we saw in Forest, we are close to an attack,” he said. “I’m not saying it is evidence. But, yes, there are indications.”

Mr Reynders said Belgium and France had so far found around 30 people involved in the gun and bomb attacks on bars, a sports stadium, and a concert hall, in the French capital.