Austria extradites pair thought to be linked to Paris attacks

Two men thought to be connected to the militants who carried out the Paris attacks in November have been extradited to France from Austria, the prosecutors’ office in the city of Salzburg said on Friday.

The two men, an Algerian believed to be 29 and a Pakistani thought to be 35, were arrested last year at a shelter for refugees on suspicion of being linked to the attacks in which 130 people were killed.

“The two accused have left federal territory,” the Salzburg prosecutors’ office said in a statement.

The French newspaper Le Monde has reported that the two men travelled together from Syria to the Greek island of Leros with two Iraqi brothers who blew themselves up near the Stade de France stadium outside Paris on Nov. 13.

The two men were first arrested on Leros during a passport check on October 3, because one of them spoke Arabic poorly and the other could not describe Aleppo, which was cited as his birthplace on his passport, the newspaper Le Parisien has said.

Both men were released three weeks later and went to Austria, where they were arrested again.

The men’s transfer to France was carried out under a European arrest warrant issued by France, the Austrian
prosecutors’ office said.

“Considering the investigations being carried out by the French authorities the Salzburg prosecutors’ office cannot provide further information on the content (of the investigation),” it added.