s: Belgian police arrest ninth suspect

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• From the sectionEurope

Image copyrightReuters

Image captionBelgian police have carried out several raids in recent days

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Police in Belgium have arrested a ninth suspect in connection with last month's Paris attacks, which killed 130 people.

Prosecutors say Abdoullah C was contacted by the cousin of suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud soon after the 13 November attacks.

Both Abaaoud, a Belgian national, and his cousin Hasna Aitboulahcen died five days later when police raided a flat near Paris where they were barricaded.

The suicide bombings and mass shootings were France's deadliest-ever attacks.

Few details have been released about the alleged role played by Abdoullah C, who is reported to have been arrested in a low-key operation in Brussels on Tuesday.

Several phone calls were made between the suspect and Hasna Aitboulahcen "after the terrorist attacks and before the Seine-Saint-Denis raid", the Belgian prosecutor's spokesman said.

A decision on extending his detention was due to take place on Thursday.

Police are still searching for a key suspect, 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam. They believe he took part in the 13 November attacks before contacting friends in Belgium to drive him back over the border to Brussels.

Despite a series of raids, police have failed to find him.

French police have conducted thousands of raids in connection with the Paris attacks. Hundreds of people have been placed under house arrest across France.