Belgian police carry out raids linked to Paris attacks

Authorities in Belgium have launched six raids in the Brussels region linked to Paris suicide bomber Bilal Hadfi.

An official in the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said that the raids were taking place in Molenbeek and other areas of Brussels.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.

Hadfi has been identified as one of three attackers at the Stade de France stadium. The raids are centering on “his entourage,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the French Interior Ministry and the Paris prosecutor’s office say it remains unclear whether the suspected mastermind of last week’s Paris attacks has been killed or is still at large.

Officials in both agencies said Thursday that authorities are working on determining whether 27-year-old Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud was among those killed in a chaotic and bloody raid on an apartment in a Paris suburb Wednesday.

Police launched the Paris operation after receiving information from tapped phone calls, surveillance and tipoffs suggesting that Abaaoud was holed up there.

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said the identities of the dead are still being investigated, but that neither Abaaoud nor another fugitive, Salah Abdeslam, is in custody.

With France still reeling from last week’s deadly attacks, Prime Minister Manual Valls warned that Islamic extremists might at some point use chemical or biological weapons, and urged lawmakers to extend a national state of emergency by three months.

“Terrorism hit France not because of what it is doing in Iraq and Syria … but for what it is,” Valls told the lower house of Parliament. He added, “We know that there could also be a risk of chemical or biological weapons.”

Valls did not say there was a specific threat involving such weapons.