Trial begins for 20 linked to Islamic State terror attacks in Paris
The main defendant in the case, Salah Abdeslam, told the court on Wednesday that he was a "soldier" of the Islamic State.
France on Wednesday opened the criminal trial of 20 people accused of involvement in the deadly Islamic State (IS) attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and injured more than 400 others nearly six years ago.
In what was the largest attack on French soil since World War II, nine gunmen and suicide bombers on Nov. 13, 2015, attacked the Bataclan music hall, a football stadium, and half a dozen bars and restaurants in the heart of Paris.
IS, then in control of large parts of Iraq and Syria, claimed credit for the massacre in the French capital. The terrorist group had previously urged its supporters to attack France and other European countries over their involvement in the US-led coalition battling IS.
Prosecutors say Salah Abdeslam, a 31-year-old Belgian-born French national, was the sole surviving attacker. After driving a group of the attackers to the stadium on the night of the attacks, Abdeslam is believed to have ditched his car and suicide vest in northern Paris before fleeing to neighboring Belgium.
