Moroccan Officials Arrest Belgian National believed to be tied to Paris Attackers

Moroccan Officials have arrested a Belgian National who is believed to have a "direct" link to the Paris attackers, the state-run media revealed on Monday.

The Maghreb Arab Press reported that the suspect, who is of Moroccan descent, was detained near Mohammedia on Friday.

The Morocco's Interior Ministry's statement referred to the suspect as "J.A." or "G.A." depending on the translation, the Associated Press reported. In the statement, the interior ministry stated that the suspect had spent time in Syria with the Islamic State, the terrorist group that also goes by ISIS and ISIL.

During his stay in Syria, he came into contact with the alleged ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, of the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Belgian national Abaaoud and other suspects were killed in a raid that took place in the Saint Denis suburb.

The suspect then left Syria and traveled through Turkey, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands before arriving in Morocco. The interior ministry also reported that the suspect fought with al-Nusra in Syria prior to joining ISIS.

A trial will reportedly be started after the investigation is finished.

Belgium's Federal Prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt stated that he suspect is Gelel Attar, who is a dual Belgian-Moroccan national. Van Der Sypt stated that the man was previously convicted in Belgium for being involved with a terrorist group.