French judges order charges against 20 for 2015 Paris attacks
French judges investigating the 2015 Islamic State attacks that left 130 people dead in Paris have ordered charges against 20 people, including a Belgian accused of masterminding the attacks who was held for years in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq before being freed and returned home.
Three of the group, including the alleged mastermind, Oussama Atar, are believed to have died in the group's final months of fighting in Iraq and Syria.
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Wounded people are evacuated outside the scene of a hostage situation at the Bataclan theatre in Paris, France, 14 November 2015. Dozens were killed in a series of attacks in the French capital Paris. AAP
Also accused is the only survivor of the Paris cell, Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested near his home in Brussels after months on the run. Abdeslam's brother, Brahim, blew himself up in Paris.
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Of the 20, 11 are jailed, three are under house arrest and six face international arrest warrants.
All are charged with terrorism offences. Atar is charged as the leader.
The November 13, 2015 attacks were linked to March 2016 bombings in Brussels.
US President Barack Obama, right, and French President Francois Hollande pay their respect at the Bataclan concert hall, one of the recent deadly Paris attack sites, after Obama arrived in the French capital to attend the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21), Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. (Philippe Wojazer, Pool via AP) AP/AAP
– Reported with Associated Press.
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