A Belgian man with 'direct links' to the Paris attackers who killed 130 people in a number of shootings and bombings in November, has been arrested in Morocco.

Gelel Attar, a 26-year-old Belgian of Moroccan descent, had travelled to Syria with at least one of the Paris suicide bombers to link up with ISIS, the Interior Ministry said.

While in Syria, Attar received military training and built relationships with several ISIS commanders, 'including the mastermind' of the Paris attacks; Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
Belgian federal prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said Attar is a dual Belgian-Moroccan national previously convicted in Belgium of involvement with a terrorist group.

Several of the Islamic extremists who targeted a Paris rock concert, stadium and cafes on November 13 had Moroccan origins and links to Belgium.
The Moroccan ministry said in a statement that Attar was arrested Friday in the town of Mohammedia, near Casablanca, after travelling through Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. It said the suspect is under investigation.

Like several of the Paris attackers, Attar lived in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek, home to many immigrants of Moroccan descent.

Last July, he was one of 30 people found guilty of involvement in an operation to recruit foreign fighters for Syria. Some were already in Syria when the trial took place - including Attar.
Attar was convicted in absentia of taking part in the activities of a terrorist group and sentenced to five years in prison.

Also among the 30 were Abdelhamid Abaaoud, ringleader of the Paris attacks, and Chakib Akrouh, identified last week as the suicide bomber who blew himself up inside the suburban Paris home in which Abaaoud and his female cousin hid from police after the November attacks.

Attar, also from Molenbeek, initially left Belgium for Syria on January 4, 2013 in the company of Akrouh, says Pieter Van Ostaeyen, who monitors the activities of Belgian jihadis and extremists.

He reportedly returned to Belgium in May 2013, before travelling to Morocco. Despite being arrested there, he managed to return to Syria, Van Ostaeyen said.

He said Attar also used the name Abou Ibrahim.

Morocco has emerged as a key ally for European investigators trying to piece together the geography of the November attacks.

The head of Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, dubbed the 'Moroccan FBI', said in a recent interview that his country put French and Belgian police on the trail of the network behind the Paris attacks.