Salah Abdeslam, one of the masterminds behind the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris in November 2015, is thought to have visited Slovakia for three weeks in the summer of last year, aktuality.sk website reported on Tuesday, referring to two independent sources from the Slovak Interior Ministry. According to the website's information, Abdeslam stayed at a guest house in Nitra, in western Slovakia. His contact in the country is said to have been a relative married to a Slovak woman. Slovak police officers purportedly searched for Abdeslam in Nitra, its vicinity and in other major cities during a big night raid in November of last year.
The information that Salah Abdeslam has a relative in Slovakia isn't entirely precise, said Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák after the Cabinet session on Wednesday. "I'd rather not be too specific on this matter, as it's not entirely confirmed or refuted," commented Kaliňák. The police have been working with every bit of relevant information and have been undertaking measures deemed essential. "Many aspects of the information haven't been confirmed, some have. Under no circumstances was Slovakia exposed to a terrorist threat at that time," added the Minister.
Abdeslam, a French national of Moroccan origin, is reported to have provided vehicles and hotel rooms for the attackers in Paris. It's thought that he originally intended to take part in the carnage himself but later changed his mind. He's currently being held by the Belgian authorities and is set to be extradited to France in order to stand trial there.
