West Midlands Police join Paris terror probe amid 'Birmingham link' reports

It is alleged that images of locations around the city were stored on a phone belonging to Abdelhamid Abaaoud who was killed during a police raid in a Paris suburb after the attacks.

It has also been claimed that he may have taken the photographs himself, despite being wanted in Europe even before the attacks.

It is not known what the photos showed.

Reports have also claimed that Abaaoud had been linked to four foiled plots this year alone and was in regular contact with a 'network of associates' in the Midlands in the weeks before the Paris attacks, in places such as Bordesley Green and Alum Rock.

It is also claimed another of the men behind the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was believed to have visited Birmingham.

He remains on the run and is feared to have fled to Syria.

The West Midlands Police force has urged families to remain calm, saying experts are working hand-in-hand with anti terror teams in London, while supporting investigations in France and Belgium.

Assistant chief constable Marcus Beale said: "The West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit is working hand-in-hand with colleagues in London, the national counter-terrorism network and security services to provide support to the French and Belgian investigations and, of course, to address any associated terrorism threat to the UK."

In recent weeks, West Midlands Police have made numerous statements asking for people to remain 'alert but not alarmed' in the aftermath of the attacks, while repeating that the threat to the UK from international terrorism is currently classed as severe, meaning an attack is considered to be highly likely.

The force also took to social media last Friday to dispel rumours that a terror strike had been planned for Birmingham over the weekend.