Economy

How a Brussels Neighborhood Became a Breeding Ground for Terror

Investigators have identified Molenbeek as a launchpad for the Paris attacks and several others.
People shop at a market in Molenbeek, Belgium, where police staged a raid following the terror attacks in Paris, on November 15, 2015.REUTERS/Yves Herman

It was a parking ticket that first thrust the Brussels district of Molenbeek into the international spotlight this weekend.

After the bloody attack on Paris on Friday, French police discovered a rental car used by the attackers near the Bataclan theatre. Finding an old fine notice from the Belgian capital inside, police started an international manhunt that led to seven arrests in the Brussels neighborhood, later named as the home of fugitive terrorist Salah Abdeslam.