Two Abdeslam brothers in Paris attacks 'stopped drinking and started praying' six months before atrocity, reveals their sibling 

• Salah Abdeslam 'told mother he was going skiing with brother Ibrahim' 
• Brother Mohamed says both began to change half a year before attacks 
• Salah, 26, has been subject of international manhunt since Paris attacks
• For full news coverage of the ISIS jihadis visit www.dailymail.co.uk/isis

By Jay Akbar For Mailonline

Published: 06:41 EST, 22 November 2015 | Updated: 07:52 EST, 23 November 2015

Two brothers involved in the Paris terror attacks ‘stopped drinking and started praying’ about six months before the atrocity, their sibling claimed last night.

Mohamed Abdeslam claimed that fugitive Salah and Ibrahim, who blew himself up, told their mother that they were going skiing shortly before the attacks in the French capital ten days ago.

And he added that they although they started to change half a year earlier, there was ‘nothing to suggest they had been radicalised’, insisting that he instead believed that they were ‘manipulated’. 

New identity: Salah Abdeslam (left) - alleged to have hired the black VW Polo used by Paris terrorists - is said to be using a new name and disguising himself using a wig and glasses (right)

Partygoer: Abdeslam is said to have frequented gay bars in Brussels' trendy Saint Jacques quarter (file photo of Rue des Bouchers in Brussels)

Mohamed, who was initially detained in Belgium but later released, urged ‘intelligent’ Salah, 26, to hand himself into police, telling the RTBF network: ‘We’d rather see him in jail than in a cemetery.’

His comments come as it was claimed that Salah, Europe's most wanted man, was a regular in Brussels gay bars, smoked cannabis and spent most of his time playing on his PlayStation.

Salah has been on the run ever since he took part in the massacre of 130 in Paris last Friday.

It has now emerged that Salah, who was part of the terror cell that gunned down people in cafes and restaurants, smoked, drank and flirted with men at gay bars in Brussels' Saint Jacques quarter.

'We had him down as a rent boy, he was always hanging out with that kind of crowd,' Julien, the bartender of a club visited by Abdeslam a month ago, told the Sunday Times.  

Carnage: Abdeslam drove a three strong team of jihadis to La Belle Equipe restaurant where they killed 19 people

Tribute: A large crowd gathers to lay flowers and candles in front of Le Carillon, one of the bars Abdeslam is said to have driven to

The club's owners, who wanted to remain anonymous, informed the police who are now trawling through CCTV footage of the area.

Ibrahim, who blew himself up outside the Comptoire Voltaire cafe, ran a bar in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, dubbed the 'Jihadi capital of Europe', their close friend Karim told the Sunday Times.

Karim said the bar was closed down a week before the Paris attacks because he used it as a den to sell drugs.

'Brahim [Ibrahim] and Salah spent most of their days smoking hashish and playing on PlayStation in the bar,' he said. 'There was nothing to suggest they were radicalised.' 

ISIS, which claimed to be behind the Paris attacks, has been known throw gay people to their death from high buildings. 

Emergency: Police were immediately called to Le Carillon following reports that gunmen had opened fire on the bar packed full of people enjoying a Friday night drink

Timeline of events: Eight terrorists carried out the devastating attacks on November 13, leaving 130 people dead and another 352 injured

The terror group has released several propaganda images and videos of suspected homosexuals and adulterers being executed, while those who drank alcohol or smoked are flogged or beaten.

Salah is believed to have rented the two cars used by terrorists in the attacks which left 130 dead and hundreds more wounded.

He is also thought to have driven his brother Ibrahim and a French shooter to four restaurants in the Canal Saint Martin area of Paris where they murdered dozens of people. 

The black Seat Leon he drove was found abandoned in Montreuil, eight miles from Paris, with three AK47s and 16 magazines inside. 

Salah has been the subject of an international manhunt since the attacks, with 2,000 officers tasked with finding him.

He was believed to be hiding inside an apartment block in the Saint Denis suburb of Paris which was raided by hundreds of special forces soldiers and police on Wednesday.

EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE OF PARIS ATTACKS SHOWS DINERS DIVING FOR COVER

Terrifying video footage of a sustained attack on a restaurant during the Paris Massacre has been revealed by the Daily Mail.

The exclusive images show the merciless savagery of an Islamic State assassin and the extraordinary bravery and survival instincts of his intended victims.

They also show the incredible luck of a young woman who would have died had the terrorist's assault rifle not misfired as he held the weapon over her head, giving her a chance to run away.

Shocking: Extraordinary video of a sustained attack on a restaurant during the Paris massacre has been revealed by the Daily Mail

Police believe her to be the luckiest person to escape with their life during Friday's psychopathic rampage which left 129 people dead and 99 critically injured.

There is also remarkable footage of a 20-year-old waitress who ducked under the bar and wrapped her arms around an older, injured woman as the Islamic State gunman sprayed the restaurant and its outdoor dining area with bullets.

It is the first time any film has been seen of the mayhem caused inside a property targeted by Islamic State six days ago.

Chilling: The footage also shows the incredible luck of a young woman who would have died had the terrorist's assault rifle not misfired as he held the weapon over her head (circled)

The Daily Mail can reveal that the gunman responsible for the attack on the restaurant, which is not being named for security reasons, is believed to be 26-year-old Belgian born Salah Abdeslam. 

The terrorist seen in the footage bears a striking resemblance to Abdeslam, who fled Paris after the attacks and evaded capture after a shocking blunder by police near the Franco-Belgian border. He remains at large.

Sources said it was possible a second, as yet unidentified gunman, might have been involved in the restaurant attack. He may still be on the run, too. 

The attack's mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud, his cousin Hasna Ait Boulahcen and a third suspected terrorist were killed in the siege, while eight others were arrested. It is not known if Abdeslam was among them.

It later emerged that Abdeslam has been stopped on the France-Belgium border by police who let him go after he showed them his ID. 

Brussels has been locked down in the wake of the Paris attacks, following reports of an 'imminent' Paris style attack.

Its shops and metro station was shot down as hundreds of armed police officers were brought in to patrol empty streets and public spaces. 

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