Who Is Ahmed Dahmani? Suspected ISIS Scout Involved In Paris Attacks Arrested In Turkey

Turkish police have detained three people, including a Belgian man of Moroccan origin suspected of being an Islamic State group scout, a Turkish news agency reported Saturday. The detainees are suspected to have been involved in last week’s coordinated shootings and suicide bombings in Paris.

Ahmed Dahmani, 26, was detained at a luxury hotel in the southern coastal city of Antalya, the Dogan news agency said, according to Reuters. Dogan reported that Dahmani is suspected to have explored areas in Paris a week before the attacks. The report also said that two other people, both Syrian citizens, were detained on suspicion of "aiding and abetting" ISIS.

The two men reportedly had been sent by the Sunni militant group to ensure Dahmani’s safe passage across the border and were planning to meet him.

Dogan news agency said that counterterrorism police tracked Dahmani to the hotel in the Manavgat district of the city after he arrived on a flight to Antalya.

The news comes as Belgium raised its terror alert to the maximum level after reports surfaced that a fugitive gunman from the Paris attacks, who was said to be affiliated with ISIS, was believed to be hiding in the Brussels area.

Brussels metro lines were reportedly shut Saturday because of a “serious and imminent” threat of an attack.

Meanwhile, a manhunt is underway for Salah Abdeslam, a Belgian-born French national wanted in connection with the deadly attacks in Paris. Abdeslam, who is described by authorities as 26 years old, 5 feet and 7 inches tall, and “dangerous,” was allegedly directly involved in the attacks.

Several raids have been carried out across Belgium, leading to many arrests. Authorities reportedly said that these detainees were linked to Bilal Hadfi, one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up during the attacks in the French capital.

French police also conducted several raids, including one in Saint-Denis suburb Wednesday that resulted in the death of the target, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the attacks that killed 130 people and injured about 350 others.