Abaaoud DNA traced to two Athens flats, probe shows

The DNA profile of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan descent believed to have masterminded the terrorist attacks in Paris earlier this month, matches samples registered with the Greek Police’s database which were collected from apartments in the Athens neighborhoods of Pangrati and Sepolia in January, an investigation by French and Greek authorities has established.

French authorities sent Greece, and other EU countries, a profile of Abaaoud’s DNA after he was killed during a police operation in Saint-Denis, northern Paris, on November 18.

That DNA was found to match samples that were collected in January from two Athens apartments as part of an investigation the Greek Police launched on the request of Belgian authorities who wanted to establish whether Abaaoud was planning an attack on Belgian police from Athens.

The Pangrati raid led to the arrest of a 33-year-old Algerian national who was subsequently extradited to Belgium. Police found no one at the Sepolia apartment but did find DNA and forged French driving licenses there.

Apart from the DNA that matches the profile sent by French authorities, authorities are said to have found more DNA and fingerprints that have yet to be identified.

The French and Belgian police and judicial authorities have been briefed about the findings, Kathimerini understands.