Germany arrests Moroccan IS suspect linked to Paris attacks

German police have arrested a Moroccan man suspected of belonging to the Islamic State group and having close ties with the ringleader of last year's Paris attacks, officials said today.
The suspect, identified as Redouane S, 24, was detained yesterday, accused of being a member of a cell that took orders from Belgian-Moroccan jihadist Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who led the November 2015 attacks in Paris before being killed in a police raid.
Redouane S was tasked with locating safe houses in Turkey and Greece between October 2014 and early 2015 that were used as bases "for the preparation of attacks", the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.

The suspect was allegedly also aware of Abaaoud's plans and preparations for an attack in the eastern Belgian city of Verviers, before the cell was dismantled in a deadly raid in January 2015.
"Even after his arrival in Germany in May 2015, he was in contact with the group around Abaaoud and was ready for further instructions," prosecutors said.
The accused appeared before a judge today, a day after his arrest in Lower Saxony state.