Salah Abdeslam told police he planned to blow himself, but backed down: prosecutor

PARIS: Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect for November´s Paris attacks, told Belgian investigators on Saturday that he had planned to blow himself up on Nov. 13 at the Stade de France, but changed his mind, the Paris prosecutor said.

"Salah Abdesalam today during questioning by investigators affirmed that, and I quote, ´he wanted to blow himself up at the Stade de France and that he had backed down´," Francois Molins told reporters, adding that Abdeslam´s initial statements should be treated with caution.

Earlier today, Belgian police moved Abdeslam from hospital to a high-security jail, where he was to face questions about the Paris attacks and likely charges, a day after his arrest in a Brussels shootout.

Salah Abdeslam, 26, the first person suspected to have played an active part in attacks in Paris to have been taken alive, was held in a Brussels hospital after being shot in the leg during Friday´s police raid near his parents´ home.

He and a second man, identified as Monir Ahmed Alaaj, are expected to appear before a magistrate, who should outline the charges they face and authorise their detention for five days.