The trial of the attacks of November 13, 2015 continues before the special assize court of Paris. On the 98th day of hearing, Thursday March 24, a Belgian investigator detailed the preparations of the terrorists, before the attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis.
Article written by
Posted
Reading time : 1 min.
It was an organization calibrated like a countdown, before launching the assaults. It starts on November 8, when Salah Abdeslam funds his account with cash. The bank’s surveillance cameras attest to this. Video surveillance, in gas stations in particular, mobile terminals and rental contracts for cars and apartments: these are the elements that make it possible to reconstruct the stages of the final preparations.
The Belgian investigator details all these pieces on the screens in the courtroom. We discover that on November 9, the Abdeslam brothers rent in Belgium the three cars which will be used for the attacks. Things became clearer on the 10th, with reservations for Parisian hideouts: a house in Bobigny, rooms in an aparthotel in Alfortville. The Abdeslam brothers go there to collect the keys.
On November 11, in Molenbeek, near Brussels, 14 telephone lines without a plan were activated: they will be used for exchanges between the coordinators remaining in Belgium and the commandos who take to the road on November 12, heading for the Paris region.
Mohamed Abrini was part of this convoy which he himself baptized “death convoy”. He, the only one of the 11 men who ultimately did not participate on the evening of the 13th, told investigators: “In the car radio, a CD of Islamic songs was playing, one of the cars was loaded with weapons and explosives… It was going to blow up, it was imminent.”
>> To read also: The logbook of an ex-hostage of the Bataclan