Turkey 'warned France twice about Paris gunman'

LONDON

Turkey warned France twice about one of the gunmen involved in Paris attacks, Turkish officials said Monday.

A security official speaking on condition of anonymity told Anadolu Agency that French officials were told about Omar Ismail Mostefai in December 2014 and June this year.

There was no response from France on either occasion, the official added.

French national Mostefai, 29, was the first attacker named in connection to the Paris attacks after French authorities identified him through a finger recovered from the Bataclan concert hall.

He was one of three men who sprayed concert-goers with gunfire on Friday evening, killing at least 89. He detonated explosives and killed himself as police stormed the building.

France sought information on four terror suspects from the Turkish authorities on Oct. 22 last year. The official said Turkey told investigators in France that it believed Mostefai was operating alongside the four listed suspects but the France did not ask for further information about him until after the Paris attacks.

No records could be found to verify media reports suggesting Mostefai had entered Turkey in 2013.