Paris is on edge after a "belt that may resemble an explosive belt" was found Monday in a suburb near where fugitive terror suspect Salah Abdeslam used his phone on the day of the Paris attacks, police said. A street cleaner in the southern suburb of Montrouge discovered the belt without a detonator in a pile of trash, three police revealed while speaking on the condition of anonymity, according to AFP.
The belt resembles the ones used by the other terrorists on the night of the Paris terror attacks, even containing bolts and triacetone triperoxide (TATP), the homemade explosive seven of the terrorists detonated to kill themselves.
The verdict is still out on the belt's origin, however. A prosecutor's spokesperson said there is no indication that the explosives found on the belt were the ones used on Nov. 13, while investigators believe the belt belongs to Abdeslam, 26, who might have decided at the last minute not to go through with a suicide bombing planned for Montmartre in the city's 18th Arrondissement, according to The Telegraph.
In the meantime, Brussels remains under lockdown as the manhunt for terrorists suspected of being connected to the Paris attacks or planning a similar one continues.
So far, 21 people have been arrested during the police raids, with one person being formally charged with participating in the Paris attacks, marking the fourth such arrest since the attacks on Nov.13, reported ABC News. Furthermore, 17 of those detained were released without charges, while three remain in custody for questioning.
Despite all of this, Abdeslam still remains at large. An unidentified friend of the fugitive told Belgian news sources that Abdeslam was "overwhelmed" and "told me he had gone too far." He is reportedly not just hiding from authorities but also from other ISIS members, since he fears they will kill him since he failed to "complete his task" by committing suicide after the attacks.
