MOSCOW, January 18 (Sputnik) – The leader of the jihadist cell overturned this week in Belgium remains at large, a Belgian minister said Sunday, following the arrests in Greece earlier, reports AFP.
The group's suspected leader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin, spent time fighting alongside the Islamic State group in Syria.
He is now on the run as he is suspected of being the leader of the Jihadist cell operating in Belgium.
Asked if the suspected leader remained on the run after two people were arrested in Athens Saturday in connection with the Belgian probe, Justice Minister Koen Geens told VRT television: "That is indeed the case."
"Last night's arrests did not succeed in nabbing the right person. We are still actively looking for him and I presume we will succeed," he added.
As reports AFP, Belgium's Flemish-language VTM channel informed that Abaaoud made calls from Greece to the brother of one of the two heavily-armed suspects killed in Verviers.
During searches of their homes, police found guns, bomb-making materials, police uniforms and fake documents. Further searches were made on Sunday in the Brussels district of Molenbeek where Abaaoud lived, reports AFP.
The Belgian government has raised the terror alert level to its second-highest position amidst concerns over young Europeans returning home after fighting and training alongside extremist groups in the Middle East and Africa.
