Turkey arrests Paris attack suspect

A Belgian man arrested in Turkey is believed to have scouted sites in Paris before the deadly attacks, the government says.

Tributes at the memorial near the Bataclan theatre in Paris

A man believed to have scouted sites for the Paris attacks has reportedly been detained in Turkey. (AAP)

A Belgian man of Moroccan origin has been arrested in Turkey on suspicion he scouted the target sites for attacks that killed 130 people in Paris a week ago, a Turkish government official said.

The official, confirming a report by the Dogan news agency, said two other men were also arrested, without giving details.

The Belgian, Ahmet Dahmani, was arrested at a luxury hotel in the southern coastal city of Antalya.

Dogan said the 26-year-old had been staying in a five-star hotel in the popular tourist destination since November 16.

Dogan said the two other men, both Syrian citizens, were detained on a nearby highway on suspicion they had been sent by Islamic State in Syria to ensure Dahmani's safe passage across the border and were planning to meet him.

Dogan, citing court sources, identified the two men as Ahmet Tahir, 29, and 23-year-old Muhammed Verdi.

Counter-terrorism police first became aware of Dahmani when he arrived on a flight to Antalya and tracked him to the hotel in the Manavgat district of the city, Dogan said.

Separately, Turkey deported a group of Moroccans detained at Istanbul's main airport this week over suspected links to Islamic State.

The eight, who said they had arrived at Ataturk airport on Tuesday night from Casablanca for a holiday, were detained by border police and questioned by profiling experts who flagged them as suspected militants, a government official said.


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Published 21 November 2015 6:22pm
Updated 21 November 2015 8:36pm
Source: AAP


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