Salah Abdeslam, 26, is now thought to be in Syria, according to intelligence sources close to the investigation

Europe's most wanted man Salah Abdeslam has escaped to Syria, according to intelligence sources close to the investigation.

The French national, 26, has been on the run since taking part in the devastating Paris attacks which left 130 people dead.

French and Belgian intelligence services have been hunting for the fugitive, with numerous raids in Belgium and Paris.

Investigators are now working on the basis that it is likely Salah Abdeslam is now in Syria, according to CNN.

Salah Abdeslam was meant to be the eight suicide bomber but fled the city after taking part in the gun attacks on several restaurants and cafes.

A suicide vest, thought to belong to Salah Abdeslam, was found left in a bin close to one of the murder scenes in Paris.

He was briefly stopped by police at the French-Belgian border but was allowed pass.

Officers failed to identify the wanted man and his accomplice, Mohammed Abrini and they are thought to have entered Belgium.

The following day the two men are believed to have visited a cafe in Brussels after being picked up by a friend.

Lawyer Olivier Martins, representing the man who picked up Abdeslam and a friend from a subway station in Brussels, said the trio visited a cafe on the way back to the neighbourhood of Schaerbeek.

The lawyer told Belgian news outlets that his client, Ali Oulkadi, received a call on November 14 and was asked to pick up a friend at Bockstael subway station in Laeken, north-west of Brussels. The friend was with Salah.

'He did not know it was Salah and did not recognise him immediately when he arrived because he was wearing a cap,' Mr Martins said, according to CNN.

'In the car, Salah told him that his brother, Brahim, had killed people in Paris and had blown himself up.

'For my client, a childhood friend of the two brothers, it was a shock, He could not understand it and could not think clearly.'

Mr Oulkadi, who spent and hour with Salah, described him as 'particularly nervous'.

Lawyer Olivier Martins, representing the man who picked up Abdeslam and a friend from a subway station in Brussels, said the trio visited a cafe

Mr Martins insists his client is innocent, saying 'you're not going to tell me that if you drive Salah Abdeslam a few kilometers through Brussels that you're part of a terrorist group'.

A Brussels court has remanded French national Mr Oulkadi, 31, in custody for another month.

Belgian police have also charged a sixth person with terrorist offences relating to the Paris attacks following a series of house raids.

Prosecutors said the man who had been detained in Brussels had been charged with terrorist murders and the participation in the activities of a terrorist group.

Salah is Europe's most wanted man after alleged mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed during a six hour battle with police in Paris' Saint-Denis last week.

Belgian soldiers patrol during the opening night of the annual Christmas market in Brussels yesterday

Terror: A body lies in the street after the attack on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris

Horrific: The terror attacks have led to a significant security crackdown in the hunt for the perpetrators of the attacks

A group of police officers stand guard in the street where Salah Abdeslam's explosive belt was discovered

On Thursday, Belgium lowered the security threat level in Brussels, ending six days on maximum alert, but the prime minister warned that the risk of a Paris-style attack remained serious.

Police and troops would remain on the streets, albeit possibly in lesser numbers.

The city has returned broadly to normal since the metro and schools reopened on Wednesday.

The nationwide threat level was raised to Three - 'Serious' - after the attacks in Paris.

People gather outside Le Carillon restaurant, where one of the gunmen opened fire on diners

Some of the families of the victims have called for the day of mourning to be boycotted due to the government's failure to stop the attack

President Francois Hollande has called for people to hang Tricolour flags outside their homes on Friday as a service of hommage takes place at Les Invalides in the capital city