Paris Attacks: Manhunt On for Second Fugitive, French Police Say

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said a probe into the attacks allowed police “to obtain telephonic surveillance and witness testimony which led us to believe that Abaaoud was likely to be in an… apartment in Saint-Denis”.

Kerry said there was now a “genuine process with possibilities” to unlock the war in Syria, which has cost 250,000 lives over almost five years.

French President Hollande has called for strengthened worldwide co-ordination against Isis following the brutal attacks on Paris that killed 129 people last week, and the country’s military has carried out three “massive” air strikes on Raqqa in the past three days.

Police have formally named just one of the attackers: Ismael Omar Mostefai, 29, from Chartres, southwest of Paris.

France and Russia have vowed merciless retaliation for the Paris attacks and last month’s bombing of a Russian airliner over the Egyptian Sinai peninsula which killed 229 people and was also claimed by IS.

The fate of the alleged mastermind of the Paris terror attacks remains unclear after police raided an apartment where he was suspected to have been holed up.

Two police sources say investigators believe the St. Denis group had been planning an attack on the French capital’s La Defense business capital.

Seven hours after the operation started, police announced it was over, but there was still no word on whether militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was initially thought to have orchestrated Friday’s attacks from Syria, had been caught.

French President Francois Hollande will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House next week, and he has plans to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of this week.

Lawyers for two suspects behind bars in Belgium say their clients acknowledge going to France early Saturday and picking up third man who is now the target of an global manhunt.

Further reports have revealed that more than 100 people were killed at the Bataclan concert hall after three gunmen reportedly opened fire with automatic arms on Friday. “Speaking at the European Parliament on Thursday, Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, said the attacks were “a clear statement of intent by ISIS to export its brutal brand of terrorism to Europe”.

He said: “I was even stopped by an officer who contemplated me so as to compare me to the picture, but he let me go, as he did not see the resemblance!”

And Abaaoud claimed he was able to “safely” travel back to Syria.

One man from the vehicle, Salah Abdeslam is already being sought by police.

“We know that there could also be a risk of chemical or biological weapons”.

The assessment from the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, in co-ordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, specifically refers to Abaaoud as a ringleader of Belgian plotters and warned Europe was more at risk of attack than the US.