How Paris Terror Suspect Abdeslam Was Captured

Authorities in France and Belgium have not shared many details of the days leading up to Abdeslam's arrest

The top suspect in the Paris attacks narrowly dodged capture earlier this week by scaling an apartment building rooftop before authorities finally nabbed him for good on Friday, according to a Belgium terrorist expert, NBC News reported.

Dedicated police work for four months straight — plus some lucky breaks — led to Salah Abdeslam's arrest, said former intelligence officer Claude Moniquet, who has contacts in the French and Belgian intelligence communities.

Authorities in France and Belgium have not shared many details of the days leading up to Abdeslam's arrest. But Moniquet said it wasn't until this week that investigators knew they were on the right track.

This past Tuesday, during a routine search of a Brussels apartment that resulted in the death of Algerian Mohamed Belkaid, a suspected ISIS fighter, authorities found fingerprints belonging to Abdeslam, Belgian prosecutors announced.

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