Primary suspect in Paris terror attacks believed to have fled to Syria

French defense circles believe that Salah Abdelslam, the only surviving perpetrator of the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, has escaped to Syria. On Monday, the sources said the 26-year-old Abdelslam is now in a Middle Eastern country, without specifying the route or means of transportation he used. However, DEBKAfile's counterterrorism sources said he crossed the border into Syria from Turkey. The escape is considered another huge failure for European intelligence services, especially the French and the Belgians, who stopped him three times after the attacks but let him go each time because he was not on any wanted list. A total of 130 men and women were killed in the coordinated suicide bombings and gun attacks in the French capital.