The Syrian passport that was found near the body an assailant in Friday night’s terror assault in Paris entered the European Union through Greece last month, an official said.
A Greek minister said Saturday the man had crossed into the E.U. through the Greek island of Leros in October.
“We announce that the passport holder had passed from Leros on Oct. 3. where he was identified based on E.U. rules… We do not know if the passport was checked by other countries through which the holder likely passed,” Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas, who is in charge of police forces, said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press and Reuters.
RELATED: ISIS claims responsibility, France vows ‘merciless’ response
“We will continue the painstaking and persistent effort to ensure the security of our country and Europe under difficult circumstances, insisting on complete identification of those arriving.”
A French official close to the investigation told NBC News that a Syrian passport was found on one of the attacker’s bodies, but could not confirm that the attacker was the passport holder. A black market for Syrian passports is booming: Migrants looking to flee the nation’s civil war sometimes turn to forgery to escape.
The coordinated attack across the French capital killed 127 people and injured at least 200 others, officials said. The eight assailants attacked a concert hall, restaurants, and a soccer stadium. Seven blew themselves up, while the eighth was killed by police, authorities said. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks on Saturday as French President Francois Hollande vowed a “merciless” response. “We will work alongside our allies to fight this terrorist menace,” he said. “France is strong and even if she is wounded she will get up always and nothing will hold her down, even if we are feeling the grief now … We will defend ourselves.” This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
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