ISTANBUL : Turkey has detained a Belgian citizen of Moroccan origin suspected of links to the Paris attacks and who was seeking to flee to Syria, a government official said Saturday.
Ahmad Dahmani, 26, is accused of being "in contact" with the Islamist extremists who carried out the attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and were claimed by Islamic State (IS) jihadists, the official added. He was detained close to the southern resort city of Antalya along with two others, reportedly Syrian citizens who were to help him cross the border into Syria.
"The security forces stated that Dahmani is an ISIS militant who was preparing to illegally cross the Turkish-Syrian border," said the official, using a different name for IS. "We believe that Dahmani was in contact with the terrorists who perpetrated the Paris attacks," the source added, without giving further details.
"The investigation continues."
Pictures showed Dahmani -- wearing a Ferrari sports jacket and with his hands behind his back -- being led away by plain clothes police. The Dogan news agency reported earlier that Dahmani had carried out reconnaissance work to scout out targets for the attacks in Paris. However this was not confirmed by the government official. Anti-terror police had followed Dahmani after he arrived at Antalya's airport and checked into a five-star hotel in the luxury resort of Manavgat to the east of the city on November 16, Dogan said.