A Renault with Belgian plates, syringes in a hotel room and a cell phone containing a chilling message were among the focuses Tuesday in the sweeping multinational investigation into last week’s terror attacks in Paris that killed 129 people.
French President Francois Hollande says his country “is at war” after three teams of gun-wielding ISIS suicide bombers hit six busy locations. His military backed up the statement by pounding ISIS targets in Syria with airstrikes. Russia launched airstrikes and cruise missiles there.
Meanwhile, a glimmer of hope for Syria’s civil war, as America’s top diplomat says a ceasefire could be on the horizon.
Here’s the key information at this stage:
— NEW: Investigators in Paris have recovered a cell phone believed to belong to one of the attackers, which could yield insight into the plot and the suspected network behind it, counterterrorism and intelligence officials told CNN’s Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz. The phone contained a message, sent before the attacks began, to the effect of: OK, we’re ready, the officials said.
— NEW: Police, issuing a photo, asked for the public’s help identifying a suicide bomber from the Stade de France. Following the attack at the stadium outside Paris, police found an emergency passport or similar document identifying him as a 25-year-old Syrian using the name Ahmad al Muhammad. Authorities believe the name is fake.
Analysis: Paris explosives are a key clue to plot
— There is a “strong presumption” that a second suspect linked to the Paris attacks is still at large, an official source close to the investigation told CNN. The other suspect is Salah Abdeslam. A black Renault Clio with Belgian plates found in Paris’ 18th arrondissement, on the north side of the city, had been rented by Abdeslam, 26, police sources said, according to French media outlets.
— Police searching two suburban Paris hotel rooms rented by Abdeslam found syringes that may have been used to make the other attackers’ explosive vests, French media reported. The rooms contained pizza boxes, as well as tubes and other material that are being tested for explosives, according to the reports.
— Abdeslam, a French citizen was the subject of a “routine check” on a motorway in northwest Austria on September 9, said Karl Heinz Grundboeck, spokesman for Austria’s Interior Ministry. The routine check did not result in any further investigation.
— One of the voices heard in an ISIS video claiming responsibility for the attacks is that of Fabien Clain, a French senior ISIS operative, according to a French security source. Clain, who was convicted in 2009 for his involvement in al Qaeda in Iraq recruitment effort, is suspected of having a link with a plot to attack churches in Paris in April and the thwarted attack on the high-speed Amsterdam-to-Paris train in August, European security officials told CNN.
— Les Beguines, a A Brussels bar registered to one of the Paris attackers, Ibrahim Abdeslam, was closed for drug-related offenses eight days before the Paris attacks, according to Molenbeek Mayor Francoise Schepmans.
— Prior to the Paris terrorist attacks, France and its allies tried to target Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the prominent ISIS member believed to have planned the attack, a French source close to the investigation said. They were unable to locate him, the source told CNN. Secretary of State John Kerry told CNN he could not confirm the report.
— Abaaoud is believed by counterterrorism officials to be the likely link between the senior ISIS leadership and the militant group’s operatives in European countries, while Salah Abdeslam remains on the run. Officials have identified three of the suicide bombers as Frenchmen Samy Amimour, Ismael Omar Mostefai and Bilal Hadfi. The newspaper, Le Monde, reports that Salah’s older brother, Ibrahim, was one of the suicide bombers. Belgian federal prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt said the Abdeslam brothers and Hadfi were known to Belgian authorities before Friday. Hadfi was among those who attacked the Stade de France, officials said.
Complete coverage on terror in Paris
The scene in France
— The upcoming Charlie Hedbo satirical magazine is expected to hit newsstands Wednesday. The cover reads: “They have the weapons. Screw them. We have the champagne!” The magazine’s office was the target of a terror attack in July.
— Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Hollande spoke on the phone and “the two leaders paid special attention to stepping up bilateral and multilateral cooperation to counter international terrorism,” the Kremlin said.
— Hollande will visit Washington next week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.
— French authorities carried out 128 new security raids overnight, officials said. They put 23 people into custody, put 104 under house arrest and seized weapons that include a rocket launcher.
Who were the suspects behind the attacks?
Around the globe
— The office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirms that she was due to attend Tuesday’s friendly soccer match between Germany and The Netherlands in Hannover. But the match was canceled after police uncovered “serious plans for explosives,” Volker Kluwe, police chief for the Lower Saxony region, of which Hannover is the capital, told German public broadcaster NDR. The stadium was evacuated.
— British Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament he will try to convince them to approve UK airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. Presently, the UK is participating only in strikes on Iraq.
— Kerry called the attacks in Paris “an aberration,” further saying, “This is not normal. It will not be normal. It will not become normal.”
— Kerry said a new coalition that includes Iran and Russia “gives us an opportunity to, perhaps, get a ceasefire in place within the next three, four, five weeks,” ending a civil war that’s been ongoing since 2011.
— The Russian Metrojet plane jet that crashed over the Sinai last month was brought down by a bomb estimated to contain 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosives, the head of the Russian Federal Security Service said. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Russia is offering $50 million for information leading to the arrest of those responsible. Egypt’s government said it would “take into consideration” the Russian findings.
— Egyptian authorities are denying a report they’ve arrested two Sharm el-Sheikh airport employees in connection with the downing of Russia’s Metrojet Flight 9268 over the Sinai Peninsula.
— Ten French warplanes were involved in overnight airstrikes on the ISIS-stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, the Defense Ministry said. Six jets delivered 16 bombs and hit a training center and command center that were part of the ISIS headquarters, the ministry said. Russia also doubled its airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, explaining that it had hit ISIS targets with airstrikes and cruise missiles in Raqqa, Deir Ezzor and Aleppo and Idlib provinces. In total, the minister said, Russia conducted 127 missions targeting 206 terrorist sites.
— The France-England soccer friendly kicked off under tight security at Wembley Stadium in London. The match — the French national team’s first since the attacks — was expected to be an emotional affair, especially for two players: Midfielder Lassana Diarra’s cousin was among those killed, and striker Antoine Griezmann’s sister narrowly survived. Meanwhile, a soccer match between Belgium and Spain, scheduled in Brussels, was canceled for security concerns.
— More than two dozen U.S. states have said they oppose accepting any refugees from Syria. The State Department said it is taking the governors’ concerns seriously, but it remains “steadfastly committed” to bringing in 10,000 Syrian refugees next year, spokesman Mark Toner said.