French PM warns of risk of chemical attack

Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday warned that France could face chemical or biological attack from terrorist groups. “But we know and bear in mind in that there is moreover a risk of chemical or bacteriological weapons”, Valls stated.

Michel also called for Belgium’s constitution to be amended – in a bid to increase the length of time a terror suspect can be held in police custody without charge.

Valls’ statement comes on the same day on which Belgian police staged six raids on Thursday in the Brussels area linked to a suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the French national stadium last week during the Paris attacks, prosecutors said.

Police arrested seven people during Wednesday’s raid that was conducted after officials received information from tapped phone calls, surveillance and tipoffs suggesting that Abaaoud was holed up in an apartment in Saint-Denis.

Belgium’s security services have been facing criticism following the coordinated attacks in the French capital, which killed 129 people, as several of the attackers were native Belgians. However, the fate of the suspected mastermind of Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was unknown after he was believed to be among the terrorists targeted in yesterday’s operation.

President Francois Hollande had declared a state of emergency following the attacks and had said that France was “at war” with the Islamic State group, which has claimed responsibility for the attacks. But two US officials said that many, though not all, of those identified were on the U.S.no-fly list. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly.