Hungary continues investigation into terrorist Abdeslam’s local ties

At France’s request, Hungarian authorities are continuing an investigation into the local ties of terrorist Salah Abdeslam who made several trips to Hungary in 2015, daily Magyar Idők said on Monday.

Abdeslam was born in France and lived in Belgium. The fourteen-member terrorist team he belonged to was involved in the preparation and execution of terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015 and Brussels on March 22, 2016.

The Hungarian authorities are trying to identify all persons that Abdeslam made contact with while in Hungary.

Abdeslam has transported at least thirteen terrorists trained by the Islamic State in Syria to western Europe where they participated in three terrorist attacks. He is currently in remand together with the two surviving members of his team: Algerian Bilal C. and the Belgian citizen Ayoub El Khazzani.

Abdeslam visited Hungary three times two years ago. On the first occasion, he stayed for a few days in a Budapest flat near the Keleti railway station which belonged to an activist of an organisation helping migrants. He was waiting to pick up persons who had entered Hungary at Kelebia from Serbia. They were given Hungarian prepaid SIM cards purchased by an interpreter in Kiskőrös in southern Hungary.