Paris Attacks ‘Planned from Syria’: France PM

Paris, Nov 16 (IANS) The deadly attacks across Paris last week that claimed 129 lives were planned and organised from Syria, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday.

"The attack was organised, conceived, and planned from Syria," CNN quoted Valls as saying in a radio interview.

The prime minister said more than 150 raids were conducted on militant targets in different areas of France earlier in the day.

"We are making use of the legal framework of the state of emergency to question people who are part of the radical jihadi movement... and all those who advocate hate of the republic," he said.

At least nine people have been arrested so far. Five of the detainees were identified over the weekend, and on Monday another two were named by the Paris prosecutor as Ahmad al-Mohammad and Samy Amimour, a BBC report said.

Al-Mohammad is the name on a Syrian passport found with the remains of one of the attackers though the man's identity has not yet been verified. The other attackers so far named are all from Europe.

Amimour was said to be facing terrorism charges in France.

Police sources said properties in the Paris suburb of Bobigny, as well as the cities of Grenoble, Toulouse and Lyon, had been targeted.

Seven of the attackers who carried out the Paris attacks on November 13 were killed, and at least one man suspected of involvement was at large, according to authorities.

The man at large was identified by French police as Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French citizen who was born in Belgium. The French police, in a public request for information, warned that he is dangerous and not to be approached.

Belgium has issued an international warrant for his arrest.