Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 10 Januari 2015 | 18.46
Police are hunting for the girlfriend of one of the three gunmen who brought three days of terror to France, saying she may be "armed and dangerous".
Hayat Boumeddiene, a suspect in the murder of a Paris policewoman on Thursday, is on the run after her partner Amedy Coulibaly was killed when armed officers brought his kosher supermarket siege to a violent end.
The 26-year-old could hold the key to the ongoing terror investigation, as police admit they may be dealing with a larger extremist cell and authorities brace for more attacks.
Details are emerging of the young woman of Algerian descent and the links between Coulibaly, 32, and the Kouachi brothers, who were killed two days after murdering 12 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Boumeddiene is thought to have been radicalised by Amedy Coulibaly
Boumeddiene reportedly started wearing a burka in May 2009 after meeting Coulibaly and quit her job as a cashier.
Later that year, they were married in a religious ceremony but were not wed under French law which requires a civil ceremony.
Video:Al Qaeda Threatens More Attacks
According to French judicial documents, the couple travelled with Cherif Kouachi and his wife in 2010 to central France to visit radical Islamist Djamel Beghal, who had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for terror offences.
The pair posed for photos during the visit, taking selfies and a snap of Boumeddiene pointing a crossbow at the camera.
Interviewed that year by counter-terrorism officers over Coulibaly's involvement in an attempt to free Paris bomber Smain Ait Ali Belkacem from jail, she was open about her fanatical views.
According to Le Nouvel Observateur, she refused to condemn al Qaeda attacks, preferring to criticise America's military interventions around the world and the Western media.
The links between the couple and the Kouachis apparently thrived, with Paris prosecutor Francois Molins revealing Boumeddiene and the wife of one of the brothers exchanged more than 500 phone calls in 2014.
A police search of Coulibaly's residence in 2010 turned up a crossbow, 240 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, films and photos of him during a trip to Malaysia, and letters seeking false official documents.
Video:Special Report - Paris Attack
In a police interview that same year, Coulibaly identified Cherif Kouachi as a friend he had met in prison and said they saw each other frequently, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.
According to the newspaper, he told the police that people he met in prison used the nickname "Dolly" for him.
He was employed as a temp worker at a Coca-Cola factory and reportedly met then-President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009.
"I know a lot of criminals because I met heaps of them in detention," he is quoted as telling the police.
Michel Thooris, secretary-general of France's police union, said he did not believe the men behind the Paris attacks were "three people isolated in their little world."
"This could very well be a little cell," he said.
Video:Paris Attack Suspect In Rap Video
"There are probably more than three people," he added, given that Cherif Kouachi and Coulibaly had had contacts with other jihadist groups in the past.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, speaking in a TV interview late on Friday, also indicated authorities are bracing for the possibility of new attacks.
"We are facing a major challenge" and "very determined individuals," he said.
:: Watch Sky News Special Report: Paris Attack at 4.30pm and 8.30pm. See it on skynews.com, our mobile apps and on Sky News - channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.
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Gallery: From Car Chase To Last Stand
Two brothers suspected of killing 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris have been killed. They had earlier taken one person hostage as police cornered the gunmen in the area, northeast of Paris
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Blasts and gunfire were later heard at the scene
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Special forces on the roof
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An employee at the printing business besieged by the Charlie Hebdo attackers was able to help police kill the terrorists after texting tactical information to them.
The 26-year-old graphic designer, who has been named in reports as Lilian Lepere, took refuge "under a sink in the canteen" upstairs at the business in Dammartin-en-Goele, according to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.
Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi were holed up there after killing 12 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and going on the run.
A source told the AFP news agency Mr Lepere was "terrified".
But despite this, he managed to remain undetected and began communicating with police outside via text message.
Video:Special Report - Paris Attack
Mr Lepere sent them "tactical elements such as his location inside the premises", Mr Molins said.
The source added that Mr Lepere could hear the suspects talking, which helped reassure him and gave him more information to send to the forces outside.
A separate source said the man was also able to communicate with his family.
The brothers had taken the manager of the store hostage, but released him after he helped Said with a neck wound he had sustained in a firefight with police.
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Gallery: Commandos Storm Supermarket
Commandos stormed the kosher supermarket where a gunman had taken at least six people hostage. Pic: Vantage News
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At around 5pm local time on Friday, automatic gunfire and explosions could be heard as police moved in to end the siege.
Officials said the brothers had emerged from the building and opened fire on police before they were killed.
An armoured car gave them access to the upper floor to free Mr Lepere, a source said.
He was taken to police headquarters, where he was quickly reunited with his family, another source close to the case said, adding he was "shocked" but "OK".
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Gallery: Faces Of Paris Suspects And Victims
Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, is a suspect in the murder of a Paris policewoman on Thursday. She is on the run after her husband Amedy Coulibaly was killed when armed officers brought his kosher supermarket siege to a violent end
Her husband Amedy Coulibaly, 32
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Mr Lepere's father said the family was "doing fine", and thanked the police and the "people who helped".
At the same time, the siege at a kosher supermarket in Paris was also coming to a bloody end.
It began when Amedy Coulibaly, who is believed to be an ally of the brothers, went into the store and took out a Kalashnikov.
A father called Ilan and his three-year-old son quickly hid in the supermarket's refrigeration unit, two relatives told AFP.
Video:Paris Supermarket Siege Over
Sources close to the investigation said at least three other people were with them.
Ilan removed his jacket and wrapped his son in it to protect the toddler from the cold.
The group remained there for almost five hours.
Ilan's mother quickly realised her son and grandson were hidden and decided not to try and contact them.
Video:Terror Attack Suspects Killed
She instead gave her son's number to the police, who were able to use it to track the location of Ilan and other hostages inside the supermarket.
According to Mr Molins, this knowledge may have played a part in their survival when police finally stormed the store.
:: Watch Sky News Special Report: Paris Attack at 4.30pm and 8.30pm. See it on skynews.com, our mobile apps and on Sky News - channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.
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1/28
Gallery: From Car Chase To Last Stand
Two brothers suspected of killing 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris have been killed. They had earlier taken one person hostage as police cornered the gunmen in the area, northeast of Paris
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Blasts and gunfire were later heard at the scene
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Special forces on the roof
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An employee at the printing business besieged by the Charlie Hebdo attackers was able to help police kill the terrorists after texting tactical information to them.
The 26-year-old graphic designer, who has been named in reports as Lilian Lepere, took refuge "under a sink in the canteen" upstairs at the business in Dammartin-en-Goele, according to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.
Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi were holed up there after killing 12 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and going on the run.
A source told the AFP news agency Mr Lepere was "terrified".
But despite this, he managed to remain undetected and began communicating with police outside via text message.
Video:Special Report - Paris Attack
Mr Lepere sent them "tactical elements such as his location inside the premises", Mr Molins said.
The source added that Mr Lepere could hear the suspects talking, which helped reassure him and gave him more information to send to the forces outside.
A separate source said the man was also able to communicate with his family.
The brothers had taken the manager of the store hostage, but released him after he helped Said with a neck wound he had sustained in a firefight with police.
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Gallery: Commandos Storm Supermarket
Commandos stormed the kosher supermarket where a gunman had taken at least six people hostage. Pic: Vantage News
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At around 5pm local time on Friday, automatic gunfire and explosions could be heard as police moved in to end the siege.
Officials said the brothers had emerged from the building and opened fire on police before they were killed.
An armoured car gave them access to the upper floor to free Mr Lepere, a source said.
He was taken to police headquarters, where he was quickly reunited with his family, another source close to the case said, adding he was "shocked" but "OK".
1/15
Gallery: Faces Of Paris Suspects And Victims
Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, is a suspect in the murder of a Paris policewoman on Thursday. She is on the run after her husband Amedy Coulibaly was killed when armed officers brought his kosher supermarket siege to a violent end
Her husband Amedy Coulibaly, 32
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Mr Lepere's father said the family was "doing fine", and thanked the police and the "people who helped".
At the same time, the siege at a kosher supermarket in Paris was also coming to a bloody end.
It began when Amedy Coulibaly, who is believed to be an ally of the brothers, went into the store and took out a Kalashnikov.
A father called Ilan and his three-year-old son quickly hid in the supermarket's refrigeration unit, two relatives told AFP.
Video:Paris Supermarket Siege Over
Sources close to the investigation said at least three other people were with them.
Ilan removed his jacket and wrapped his son in it to protect the toddler from the cold.
The group remained there for almost five hours.
Ilan's mother quickly realised her son and grandson were hidden and decided not to try and contact them.
Video:Terror Attack Suspects Killed
She instead gave her son's number to the police, who were able to use it to track the location of Ilan and other hostages inside the supermarket.
According to Mr Molins, this knowledge may have played a part in their survival when police finally stormed the store.
:: Watch Sky News Special Report: Paris Attack at 4.30pm and 8.30pm. See it on skynews.com, our mobile apps and on Sky News - channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.
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Video:Al Qaeda Threatens More Attacks
By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent, in Dammartin-en-Goele
Al Qaeda has threatened France with more terror attacks after 17 people were killed at Charlie Hebdo's offices and at a Jewish supermarket.
The warning came as President Francois Hollande admitted the threats "weren't over" and police hunting a female suspect suggested there could be a larger terrorist cell planning further atrocities.
A sharia official from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Harith al Nadhari, said in a video: "It is better for you to stop your aggression against the Muslims, so perhaps you will live safely.
The end of the kosher store siege. Pic: Vantage News
"If you refuse but to wage war, then wait for the glad tiding."
AQAP has claimed it directed brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi in the attack on Charlie Hebdo "as revenge for the honour" of the Prophet Mohammed.
Video:Terror Attack Suspects Killed
The gunman killed by police at a kosher supermarket in Paris has told how he "co-ordinated" with the Charlie Hebdo killers and was a member of the Islamic State (IS) group.
Amedy Coulibaly's call to France's BFMTV station emerged after gunfire and explosions marked the violent conclusion to two hostage-takings 30 miles (48km) apart.
Just minutes separated the series of blasts at the Paris store and those that destroyed a warehouse in Dammartin-en-Goele, where the Kouachi brothers were holed up.
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Gallery: Commandos Storm Supermarket
Commandos stormed the kosher supermarket where a gunman had taken at least six people hostage. Pic: Vantage News
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Explosions rang out at the scene
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Police stormed both buildings almost simultaneously, killing both brothers, while at least four hostages and the jihadist gunman died at the Paris grocery store.
The supermarket was stormed as Coulibaly knelt to do his evening prayer.
Authorities have praised the quick instincts of some of the survivors in the two incidents, including an employee at the printing works who provided information to police whilst hidden under a sink.
Video:Special Report - Paris Attack
Coulibaly told BFMTV in the call from the supermarket that he had worked with the Kouachi brothers, who he described as his "officers".
"They (dealt with) Charlie Hebdo, I (dealt with) the police," he reportedly said.
Police became convinced the two attacks were linked after they discovered that Coulibaly's wife and fellow suspect Hayat Boumeddiene and the partner of one of the Kouachis had called each other more than 500 times last year.
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Gallery: Faces Of Paris Suspects And Victims
Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, is a suspect in the murder of a Paris policewoman on Thursday. She is on the run after her husband Amedy Coulibaly was killed when armed officers brought his kosher supermarket siege to a violent end
Her husband Amedy Coulibaly, 32
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They have subsequently established that Cherif Kouachi met Coulibaly in prison and the two men visited jihadist Djamel Beghal with their wives in 2010.
Coulibaly said he targeted the kosher supermarket because he wanted to defend Palestinians and target Jews.
Witnesses to the Charlie Hebdo attack said Said Kouachi, the elder of the brothers, claimed allegiance to al Qaeda during the attack and travelled to Yemen in 2011.
Video:Hostage-Taker's Siege Phone Call
His brother told BFMTV in a separate recording: "I was sent, me, Cherif Kouachi, by Al Qaeda of Yemen. I went over there and it was Anwar al Awlaki who financed me."
Boumeddiene, 26, who was identified along with Coulibaly as a suspect in the killing of a police officer on Thursday, remains on the run.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the heavy death toll over three days of violence showed there had been a "clear failing" of intelligence.
Video:Attackers 'made it hard for police'
France will remain on the highest possible level of alert in the greater Paris area, said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
"We want to keep the high level of mobilisation and vigilance," he said after an emergency meeting chaired by Mr Hollande.
:: Watch Sky News Special Report: Paris Attack at 4.30pm and 8.30pm. See it on skynews.com, our mobile apps and on Sky News - channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.
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Charlie Hebdo: Al Qaeda Threatens More Attacks
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Al Qaeda Threatens More Attacks
By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent, in Dammartin-en-Goele
Al Qaeda has threatened France with more terror attacks after 17 people were killed at Charlie Hebdo's offices and at a Jewish supermarket.
The warning came as President Francois Hollande admitted the threats "weren't over" and police hunting a female suspect suggested there could be a larger terrorist cell planning further atrocities.
A sharia official from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Harith al Nadhari, said in a video: "It is better for you to stop your aggression against the Muslims, so perhaps you will live safely.
The end of the kosher store siege. Pic: Vantage News
"If you refuse but to wage war, then wait for the glad tiding."
AQAP has claimed it directed brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi in the attack on Charlie Hebdo "as revenge for the honour" of the Prophet Mohammed.
Video:Terror Attack Suspects Killed
The gunman killed by police at a kosher supermarket in Paris has told how he "co-ordinated" with the Charlie Hebdo killers and was a member of the Islamic State (IS) group.
Amedy Coulibaly's call to France's BFMTV station emerged after gunfire and explosions marked the violent conclusion to two hostage-takings 30 miles (48km) apart.
Just minutes separated the series of blasts at the Paris store and those that destroyed a warehouse in Dammartin-en-Goele, where the Kouachi brothers were holed up.
1/38
Gallery: Commandos Storm Supermarket
Commandos stormed the kosher supermarket where a gunman had taken at least six people hostage. Pic: Vantage News
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Explosions rang out at the scene
]]>
Police stormed both buildings almost simultaneously, killing both brothers, while at least four hostages and the jihadist gunman died at the Paris grocery store.
The supermarket was stormed as Coulibaly knelt to do his evening prayer.
Authorities have praised the quick instincts of some of the survivors in the two incidents, including an employee at the printing works who provided information to police whilst hidden under a sink.
Video:Special Report - Paris Attack
Coulibaly told BFMTV in the call from the supermarket that he had worked with the Kouachi brothers, who he described as his "officers".
"They (dealt with) Charlie Hebdo, I (dealt with) the police," he reportedly said.
Police became convinced the two attacks were linked after they discovered that Coulibaly's wife and fellow suspect Hayat Boumeddiene and the partner of one of the Kouachis had called each other more than 500 times last year.
1/15
Gallery: Faces Of Paris Suspects And Victims
Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, is a suspect in the murder of a Paris policewoman on Thursday. She is on the run after her husband Amedy Coulibaly was killed when armed officers brought his kosher supermarket siege to a violent end
Her husband Amedy Coulibaly, 32
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They have subsequently established that Cherif Kouachi met Coulibaly in prison and the two men visited jihadist Djamel Beghal with their wives in 2010.
Coulibaly said he targeted the kosher supermarket because he wanted to defend Palestinians and target Jews.
Witnesses to the Charlie Hebdo attack said Said Kouachi, the elder of the brothers, claimed allegiance to al Qaeda during the attack and travelled to Yemen in 2011.
Video:Hostage-Taker's Siege Phone Call
His brother told BFMTV in a separate recording: "I was sent, me, Cherif Kouachi, by Al Qaeda of Yemen. I went over there and it was Anwar al Awlaki who financed me."
Boumeddiene, 26, who was identified along with Coulibaly as a suspect in the killing of a police officer on Thursday, remains on the run.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the heavy death toll over three days of violence showed there had been a "clear failing" of intelligence.
Video:Attackers 'made it hard for police'
France will remain on the highest possible level of alert in the greater Paris area, said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
"We want to keep the high level of mobilisation and vigilance," he said after an emergency meeting chaired by Mr Hollande.
:: Watch Sky News Special Report: Paris Attack at 4.30pm and 8.30pm. See it on skynews.com, our mobile apps and on Sky News - channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 09 Januari 2015 | 18.46
A hostage negotiation expert has given an insight into how French authorities will be tackling the situation in Dammartin-en-Goele.
Dr James Alvarez, who has worked as a consultant for Scotland Yard and the New York Police Department, said that negotiators would be concerned with the lives of hostages - not the lives or freedom of the terrorists.
He told Sky News: "It is not likely at all that the French authorities will negotiate for the freedom of these guys. They will certainly negotiate for the life of the hostage.
"It seems likely that the French authorities will be less inclined to negotiate with them because of the very real risk they pose of hurting the hostages. I would be very surprised if there wasn't a rescue operation being planned as we speak.
"Even though these guys are a bunch of savages, the negotiators are going to be trying to calm things down...the less volatile things are, the safer it is for everybody."
Video:'They Have To Calm This Down'
He was speaking as French security services swarmed Dammartin-en-Goele, a small industrial town northeast of Paris Friday in an operation to capture a pair of heavily armed suspects in the deadly storming of a satirical newspaper.
The brothers stole a car in the early morning hours in the town, about 40km (25 miles) northeast of Paris.
French authorities are reported to have begun negotiating with Cherif Kouachi, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34, after news they are holding a hostage, just days after their attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices on Wednesday that left 12 people dead.
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Gallery: Charlie Hebdo Suspects In Stand-Off
Two brothers suspected of killing 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris have taken one person hostage as police cornered the gunmen in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris
The Paris terror suspects are holed up at an industrial building near Charles de Gaulle airport with a hostage, and have told police they are ready to "die as martyrs".
One of the "heavily armed" Kouachi brothers turned up at the printing factory wearing black combat gear and a bulletproof vest and claimed to be a police officer. He then told a worker: "Get out of here, we don't kill civilians."
Helicopters are hovering overhead and armed police officers have flooded the area, surrounding Said and Cherif Kouachi. An army tank has been spotted nearby.
Local residents are being told to stay at home, switch off the lights, and stay away from their windows. Hundreds of people are sealed inside some local office buildings.
The two men are holed up at a building near Charles de Gaulle airport
There have been reports that two people have been killed, but Paris prosecutors insist there have been no deaths.
Police are now negotiating by phone with the two suspects, whose hostage is understood to be a woman.
Video:'They Are Ready To Die As Martyrs'
At least two planes have aborted landing attempts at the airport as the situation unfolds.
Sky's Robert Nisbet said the operation is complex and the police are moving at a deliberately slow pace.
"What we are sensing here is no panic, they are taking this very slowly indeed. This operation is complex, this is not something they want to rush."
Video:Paris Attack Chase: Road Closed
The stand-off follows a car chase on the N2 motorway earlier in which gunshots were fired between the men and police as their stolen car headed towards Paris.
Three helicopters have been hovering near the building in Dammartin-en-Goele, close to the country's busiest airport.
A close-up image of one of the helicopters shows armed police sitting at the vehicle's open door with heavy weaponry ready.
Video:Police Track Massacre Suspects
France's interior minister has confirmed that an operation to detain the suspects is under way.
In a televised statement Bernard Cazeneuve said: "An operation is under way which is set to neutralise the perpetrators of the cowardly attack carried out two days ago."
Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: "Police seem to have the situation under control and appear to be in contact - or trying to get into contact - with the two men."
Video:'They Have To Calm This Down'
Armed police are ordering members of the media to leave the area, saying the situation is too dangerous.
The brothers' grey Peugot 206 was hijacked from a woman in the town of Montagny Sainte Felicite this morning between Crepy-en-Valois and Nanteuil-le-Haudoin.
Almost 90,000 terror police across France are involved in the hunt for the men, believed to be behind Wednesday's terror attack on the headquarters of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in which 12 people died.
Video:Helicopters Land In French Village
They then fled the city and are believed to have hid overnight in an area to the northeast of the capital.
Police say the attack is now being linked to a second incident on Thursday in which a policewoman was shot dead and a council worker seriously injured.
The suspect is a known associate of Cherif, French media claims.
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Gallery: Charlie Hebdo Suspects In Stand-Off
Two brothers suspected of killing 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris have taken one person hostage as police cornered the gunmen in Dammartin-en-Goele, northeast of Paris
Eleven people have been shot dead at the headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, prosecutors confirm.
Two masked gunmen are reported to have stormed the offices of the controversial publication, which has previously been attacked over its portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed.
A bullet hole at the scene of the shooting
They are believed to have been armed with Kalashnikov rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade.
A manhunt is under for the killers, who escaped after a shootout in the street with police.
1/10
Gallery: Gunmen Attack Paris Magazine Office
Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris
A bullet's impact on the window of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo
Charlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine attacked in Paris has been targeted over its content before.
In the early hours of November 2, 2011, the paper's office was fire-bombed shortly after an issue featuring a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in which the religious figure was listed as "editor-in-chief".
The provocative move was not unusual for the publication, which has been poking fun at politics and religion for decades.
It was banned a year after its 1969 launch by the Minister of the Interior after mocking the media coverage of the death of former French president Charles de Gaulle.
But the paper, then known as Hara-Kiri Hebdo, changed its name to sidestep the ban.
It folded in 1981 but was reborn amid much fanfare in 1992, with the first edition selling 100,000 copies.
In 2006 the paper's front page showed a cartoon of a weeping Prophet Mohammed, and the resulting controversy boosted sales by around 60,000 copies.
The then French President, Jacques Chirac, warned that "overt provocations" to other religions should be avoided.
But it isn't just Islam that the paper has targeted.
In 2008 accusations of anti-Semitism were laid against a veteran cartoonist who was later sacked.
In September 2012, in the aftermath of attacks on US embassies in the Middle East, it published more satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
As a result, security was beefed up at several French embassies, while riot police surrounded the paper's offices to protect it.
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 06 Januari 2015 | 18.46
Father's Perilous Missions To Save Syria Jihadis
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Video:Father's Love Saves Jihadi Son
By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent
A father who rescued his own jihadi son from the clutches of Syrian rebels is now travelling back to the country to track down other young foreign fighters.
Dimitri Bontinck risked his life on a perilous 10-month quest to find his teenage son, travelling to Syria three times before the pair were eventually reunited in late 2013.
Despite the continuing danger, the former Belgian soldier is now helping other families, including some from the UK, in the search for their loved ones in the war-torn country.
Mr Bontinck told Sky News: "I have no other choice than to help those going through the same kind of trauma and nightmare I experienced."
He claims the Belgian, British and many other western governments are adding to that trauma by refusing to help in the search for those who have gone to Syria and Iraq - and for criminalising those who return from the region.
"It's so sad that parents like me and so many thousands of parents worldwide are standing alone, that nobody's helping them. It's disgusting really, it's selfish," he said.
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Gallery: The Battle For Aleppo
Aleppo has been one of the cities at the centre of Syria's civil war since it began in early 2011. Here a man carries a wounded girl after an airstrike by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad
A bus blocks a road amid damage on the Salah Al-Din neighbourhood frontline
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People walk amid the rubble of collapsed buildings at a site hit during a barrel bomb attack by Assad forces in the Al-Fardous neighbourhood
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Members of the Civil Defence rescue children after an airstrike in the al-Shaar neighbourhood
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A fighter from the Tawhid Brigade, which operates under the Free Syrian Army, fires an anti-tank missile at Assad forces
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Mr Bontinck claims he approached the police and other agencies in Belgium on numerous occasions after his son Jejoen converted to Islam and later began to show signs of radicalisation.
"We asked for help from everyone, from the police, from the authorities and youth organisations ... because we see that something is going wrong, we see that it's no good for his future - and they were just watching," he said.
"The reply from all those we asked for help was the same: 'We are living in a democracy, you have freedom of speech, you have freedom of religion'. So it was very sad for us."
Jejoen Bontinck was a popular teenager in his native Antwerp, an accomplished breakdancer who appeared in a number of music videos, but according to his parents he became increasingly radical in his religious and political views and eventually ran off to join rebel groups in Syria.
After the Belgian authorities told him they were unable to help track down his son, Dimitri Bontinck took the extraordinary decision to travel to the region himself to try to find the teenager.
"I followed a father's instinct, I followed my heart. I couldn't stay here just watching, not taking action and responsibility," he said.
On repeated trips to Syria he befriended local people and many rebel fighters who helped in the search for his son. "It was a danger mission, believe me. I risked my life and met many fighting groups. At times, there were snipers above my head; bombs and attacks."
Although the vast majority of rebel fighters he met were very friendly, Dimitri said he was held captive at one point, suspected of spying. "They put a cap over my head and handcuffed me. They were beating me on the head and I was thinking 'Is it all worth it?'
Video:Finding Lost Sons In Syria
"Then another part of me thought 'I believe in my son, there is love for my son, if there is a God, they'll release me.' And they did."
On his third trip to Syria, he was reunited with his son, who he claimed was happy to return to Belgium because he realised he had been "naive" and that he "had been used" by others.
Dimitri Bontinck says he is in contact with dozens of other families and is now actively trying to help them find their loved ones.
Ozana Rodrigues, whose son ran off to fight with Islamic State in Syria more than a year ago, said Dimitri was the only person willing to help her.
In a cafe in central Antwerp, she told Sky News: "Dimitri talks to people, parents that have lost their kids - but the authorities don't want to help. They don't care and there is no support, while we're suffering."
She said Dimitri had made contact with her son Brian, but that so far, he is refusing to return home.
"When Dimitri went to Syria to get his son, I was praying to God that he would see my son and bring him back but it didn't work out that way," she said.
Although Dimitri's son is safely back in Antwerp, the 19-year-old is now at the centre of a huge terrorism trial in Belgium, one of more than 40 people being prosecuted for membership of a banned organisation.
Video:Handcuffed and Beaten
His father is deeply critical of the Belgian government's decision to prosecute.
"With this wrong attitude and stigmatisation they're creating more frustration against the West," he said.
"They're creating more violence against the West. It's totally wrong."
Despite the prospect that other young Europeans he rescues from Syria will also be prosecuted, Dimitri Bontinck said he still feels compelled to help.
"I thought I would never return to Syria, but when mothers are calling me and crying on the phone because nobody's helping them ... when they ask to meet me, I'm not going to say no," he said.
Dimitri Bontinck has now risked his life eight times travelling to Syria. He has just returned from his latest trip there and says he plans to return to the region again in the weeks ahead.
:: Watch the full report on Sky News at 2.30pm, 4.30pm and 8.30pm, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.
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Father's Perilous Missions To Save Syria Jihadis
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Video:Father's Love Saves Jihadi Son
By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent
A father who rescued his own jihadi son from the clutches of Syrian rebels is now travelling back to the country to track down other young foreign fighters.
Dimitri Bontinck risked his life on a perilous 10-month quest to find his teenage son, travelling to Syria three times before the pair were eventually reunited in late 2013.
Despite the continuing danger, the former Belgian soldier is now helping other families, including some from the UK, in the search for their loved ones in the war-torn country.
Mr Bontinck told Sky News: "I have no other choice than to help those going through the same kind of trauma and nightmare I experienced."
He claims the Belgian, British and many other western governments are adding to that trauma by refusing to help in the search for those who have gone to Syria and Iraq - and for criminalising those who return from the region.
"It's so sad that parents like me and so many thousands of parents worldwide are standing alone, that nobody's helping them. It's disgusting really, it's selfish," he said.
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Gallery: The Battle For Aleppo
Aleppo has been one of the cities at the centre of Syria's civil war since it began in early 2011. Here a man carries a wounded girl after an airstrike by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad
A bus blocks a road amid damage on the Salah Al-Din neighbourhood frontline
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People walk amid the rubble of collapsed buildings at a site hit during a barrel bomb attack by Assad forces in the Al-Fardous neighbourhood
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Members of the Civil Defence rescue children after an airstrike in the al-Shaar neighbourhood
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A fighter from the Tawhid Brigade, which operates under the Free Syrian Army, fires an anti-tank missile at Assad forces
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Mr Bontinck claims he approached the police and other agencies in Belgium on numerous occasions after his son Jejoen converted to Islam and later began to show signs of radicalisation.
"We asked for help from everyone, from the police, from the authorities and youth organisations ... because we see that something is going wrong, we see that it's no good for his future - and they were just watching," he said.
"The reply from all those we asked for help was the same: 'We are living in a democracy, you have freedom of speech, you have freedom of religion'. So it was very sad for us."
Jejoen Bontinck was a popular teenager in his native Antwerp, an accomplished breakdancer who appeared in a number of music videos, but according to his parents he became increasingly radical in his religious and political views and eventually ran off to join rebel groups in Syria.
After the Belgian authorities told him they were unable to help track down his son, Dimitri Bontinck took the extraordinary decision to travel to the region himself to try to find the teenager.
"I followed a father's instinct, I followed my heart. I couldn't stay here just watching, not taking action and responsibility," he said.
On repeated trips to Syria he befriended local people and many rebel fighters who helped in the search for his son. "It was a danger mission, believe me. I risked my life and met many fighting groups. At times, there were snipers above my head; bombs and attacks."
Although the vast majority of rebel fighters he met were very friendly, Dimitri said he was held captive at one point, suspected of spying. "They put a cap over my head and handcuffed me. They were beating me on the head and I was thinking 'Is it all worth it?'
Video:Finding Lost Sons In Syria
"Then another part of me thought 'I believe in my son, there is love for my son, if there is a God, they'll release me.' And they did."
On his third trip to Syria, he was reunited with his son, who he claimed was happy to return to Belgium because he realised he had been "naive" and that he "had been used" by others.
Dimitri Bontinck says he is in contact with dozens of other families and is now actively trying to help them find their loved ones.
Ozana Rodrigues, whose son ran off to fight with Islamic State in Syria more than a year ago, said Dimitri was the only person willing to help her.
In a cafe in central Antwerp, she told Sky News: "Dimitri talks to people, parents that have lost their kids - but the authorities don't want to help. They don't care and there is no support, while we're suffering."
She said Dimitri had made contact with her son Brian, but that so far, he is refusing to return home.
"When Dimitri went to Syria to get his son, I was praying to God that he would see my son and bring him back but it didn't work out that way," she said.
Although Dimitri's son is safely back in Antwerp, the 19-year-old is now at the centre of a huge terrorism trial in Belgium, one of more than 40 people being prosecuted for membership of a banned organisation.
Video:Handcuffed and Beaten
His father is deeply critical of the Belgian government's decision to prosecute.
"With this wrong attitude and stigmatisation they're creating more frustration against the West," he said.
"They're creating more violence against the West. It's totally wrong."
Despite the prospect that other young Europeans he rescues from Syria will also be prosecuted, Dimitri Bontinck said he still feels compelled to help.
"I thought I would never return to Syria, but when mothers are calling me and crying on the phone because nobody's helping them ... when they ask to meet me, I'm not going to say no," he said.
Dimitri Bontinck has now risked his life eight times travelling to Syria. He has just returned from his latest trip there and says he plans to return to the region again in the weeks ahead.
:: Watch the full report on Sky News at 2.30pm, 4.30pm and 8.30pm, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.
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Video:Lights Go Out With German Protests
Around 18,000 people have taken part in an anti-Islam rally in the German city of Dresden despite a plea by Chancellor Angela Merkel to reject the growing protests, which she has branded racist.
While the demonstration was the biggest so far, similar far-right rallies held in other German cities have been met by much bigger counter-protests.
Lights around the country were switched off in protest at the anti-immigrant demonstrations - monuments in Dresden were thrown into darkness along with Cologne Cathedral and Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Cologne Cathedral was plunged into darkness
The rapidly expanding grassroots movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA) has unsettled the country's political establishment in recent months with its weekly rallies in Dresden.
The protests have continued to grow from an initial few hundred people in October.
1/14
Gallery: Rival Rallies Over Islam In Germany
Around 18,000 people have taken part in an anti-Islam rally in Dresden - the biggest turnout for the protests, which have become a weekly event in the German city
The demonstrations have continued to grow despite a plea by Chancellor Angela Merkel
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The grassroots movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA) has unsettled the country's political establishment
]]>
But similar anti-immigration rallies in Berlin and the western city of Cologne were heavily outnumbered by counter-protesters
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Protesters waved the German flag and brandished posters bearing slogans such as "Respect and tolerance for our people too" and "Against religious fanaticism"
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On Monday, protesters waved the German flag and brandished posters bearing slogans such as "Respect and tolerance for our people too" and "Against religious fanaticism" while chanting, "We are the people", a saying originally adopted by anti-communist demonstrators in the run-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In Berlin, about 300 protesters were met with 5,000 counter-demonstrators marching with flags from the main left-wing parties.
And in Cologne, there were around 10 times as many people protesting against the anti-Muslim demonstrators.
In her New Year address last week, Ms Merkel urged Germans to turn their backs on anti-Muslim protesters, calling them racists whose hearts are full of hatred.
1/11
Gallery: Dec: German Anti-Islam Rally Attracts Record Numbers
Thousands of anti-Islam protesters at a Dresden rally on 17 December.
The rallies are being organised by a group called 'Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident' or PEGIDA
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Speaking in the eastern town of Neustrelitz on Monday, she said: "We need to ... say that right-wing extremism, hostility towards foreigners and anti-Semitism should not be allowed any place in our society."
Justice minister Heiko Maas said at the Berlin counter-demonstration: "Germany is a country where refugees are welcome and the silent majority must not remain silent but rather go out onto the streets and show itself."
Germany has some of the world's most liberal asylum rules, partly due to its Nazi past, and the number of asylum seekers arriving in the country leapt to around 200,000 last year - four times as many as in 2012.
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German Anti-Islam Rally Hits Record Number
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Lights Go Out With German Protests
Around 18,000 people have taken part in an anti-Islam rally in the German city of Dresden despite a plea by Chancellor Angela Merkel to reject the growing protests, which she has branded racist.
While the demonstration was the biggest so far, similar far-right rallies held in other German cities have been met by much bigger counter-protests.
Lights around the country were switched off in protest at the anti-immigrant demonstrations - monuments in Dresden were thrown into darkness along with Cologne Cathedral and Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Cologne Cathedral was plunged into darkness
The rapidly expanding grassroots movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA) has unsettled the country's political establishment in recent months with its weekly rallies in Dresden.
The protests have continued to grow from an initial few hundred people in October.
1/14
Gallery: Rival Rallies Over Islam In Germany
Around 18,000 people have taken part in an anti-Islam rally in Dresden - the biggest turnout for the protests, which have become a weekly event in the German city
The demonstrations have continued to grow despite a plea by Chancellor Angela Merkel
]]>
The grassroots movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA) has unsettled the country's political establishment
]]>
But similar anti-immigration rallies in Berlin and the western city of Cologne were heavily outnumbered by counter-protesters
]]>
Protesters waved the German flag and brandished posters bearing slogans such as "Respect and tolerance for our people too" and "Against religious fanaticism"
]]>
On Monday, protesters waved the German flag and brandished posters bearing slogans such as "Respect and tolerance for our people too" and "Against religious fanaticism" while chanting, "We are the people", a saying originally adopted by anti-communist demonstrators in the run-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In Berlin, about 300 protesters were met with 5,000 counter-demonstrators marching with flags from the main left-wing parties.
And in Cologne, there were around 10 times as many people protesting against the anti-Muslim demonstrators.
In her New Year address last week, Ms Merkel urged Germans to turn their backs on anti-Muslim protesters, calling them racists whose hearts are full of hatred.
1/11
Gallery: Dec: German Anti-Islam Rally Attracts Record Numbers
Thousands of anti-Islam protesters at a Dresden rally on 17 December.
The rallies are being organised by a group called 'Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident' or PEGIDA
]]>
Speaking in the eastern town of Neustrelitz on Monday, she said: "We need to ... say that right-wing extremism, hostility towards foreigners and anti-Semitism should not be allowed any place in our society."
Justice minister Heiko Maas said at the Berlin counter-demonstration: "Germany is a country where refugees are welcome and the silent majority must not remain silent but rather go out onto the streets and show itself."
Germany has some of the world's most liberal asylum rules, partly due to its Nazi past, and the number of asylum seekers arriving in the country leapt to around 200,000 last year - four times as many as in 2012.
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Breaking News: A&E Waiting Times Are Worst For 10 Years
