France finds explosive belt, detects Paris suspect's phone

French police cordon the area after an alleged explosive belt was found in Montrouge, near Paris, a week after a series of deadly attacks in the French capital Paris, France, November 23, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

PARIS/BRUSSELS - A suspected explosive belt was found dumped near Paris on Monday and the mobile phone of a fugitive believed to have taken part in the attacks on Nov. 13 was detected in two locations in the city, a source close to the investigation said.

France and Belgium have launched a manhunt following the attacks that killed 130 people, with a focus on Brussels barkeeper Salah Abdeslam, 26, who returned to the city from Paris hours after the attacks and is still at large.

Abdeslam's mobile phone was detected after the attacks in the 18th district in the north of Paris, near an abandoned car that he had rented, and then later in Chatillon in the south, the source said on Monday.

Detectives were examining what appeared to be an explosive belt found in a litter bin in the town of Montrouge, south of the capital and not far from Chatillon.

The source said it was too soon to say whether the belt had been in contact with Abdeslam, whose elder brother blew himself during the gun and suicide bomb attacks.

One theory was that Abdeslam had intended to blow himself up in the 18th district but had abandoned the plan, although it was not clear why.

"Maybe he had a technical problem with his explosive belt," a police source said.

Fearing an imminent threat of a Paris-style attack, Belgium extended a maximum security alert in Brussels for a week but said the metro system and schools could re-open on Wednesday.

"We are still confronted with the threat we were facing yesterday," Prime Minister Charles Michel said. Potential targets remained shopping areas and public transport.

Belgium has been at the heart of investigations into the Paris attacks since French law enforcement bodies said two of the suicide bombers had lived there. Three people have been charged in Belgium with terrorist offences, including two who travelled back with Abdeslam from Brussels.