Ninth suspect arrested in Belgium in connection with Paris attacks

BRUSSELS – A ninth person has been arrested in Belgium on terrorism charges in connection with the deadly attacks in Paris last month, prosecutors announced Thursday.

The suspect had several contacts with Hasna Aitboulahcen, who is said to have been the cousin of the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Belgian prosecutors said in a statement.

Both Abaaoud and Aitboulahcen died last month during a police raid in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. The contacts between Aitboulahcen and the suspect arrested in Belgium took place between the Nov. 13 attacks and the Nov. 18 raid.

The prosecutors named the suspect as Abdoullah C, a Belgian national born in 1985.

He was taken into custody Tuesday and was later placed under arrest for having played a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, the prosecutors said.

The Nov. 13 attacks left 130 people dead. They featured a wave of shootings and bombings targeting a concert hall, the national stadium and a string of bars and restaurants in central Paris. Seven attackers died in the violence. Several of them had links to Belgium.