BACKGROUND The suspects linked to the Paris terrorist attacks
Paris (dpa) - Ten weeks after the Paris terrorist attacks, investigators are still working on identifying the people responsible for the violence and their accomplices.
Here is what is known about different suspects, based on police information and media reports.
- The attackers who died in Paris on November 13:
OMAR ISMAIL MOSTEFAI: A 29-year-old Frenchman born in the southern Paris suburb of Courcouronnes, who was among the attackers at the Bataclan concert hall. He was known to police as a small-time criminal, but had never been jailed. He had also been under watch since 2010 for radicalization and reportedly spent time in Syria.
SAMY AMIMOUR: A 28-year-old Frenchman born in Paris, the second of the Bataclan attackers. The former public bus driver was known to law enforcement for links to terrorists and had attempted to go to Yemen. He was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued in 2013, at which time his family says he had gone to Syria.
FOUED MOHAMMED AGGAD: A 23-year-old Frenchman from Strasbourg, who was identified as the third Bataclan attacker. His mother reportedly got a text message from Syria informing her of her son‘s death "as a martyr." He is believed to have gone to Syria at the end of 2013.
BRAHIM ABDESLAM: A 31-year-old Frenchman who had lived in Belgium and blew himself up in the restaurant Comptoir Voltaire. He reportedly managed a now-shuttered bar in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek, where neighbours said marijuana was often consumed.
BILAL HADFI: A 20-year-old Frenchman who had lived in Belgium and blew himself up near the Stade de France football stadium. There are media reports that he too spent time in Syria, having joined the Islamic State extremist group.
THE MAN WITH THE SYRIAN PASSPORT: A Syrian passport issued to 25-year-old Ahmad al-Mohammad was found near the body of a second Stade de France attacker. But it is thought to be a fake. Whoever used the passport is suspected of having infiltrated the migrant flows coursing through Europe.
STADE DE FRANCE ATTACKER No. 3: Still to be identified. He may also have infiltrated migrant flows.
- The suspects killed on November 18 during a police raid in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis:
ABDELHAMID ABAAOUD: A 28-year-old Belgian national of Moroccan origin, suspected of masterminding and participating in the November 13 attacks. Abaaoud had been in Syria since 2014 and was a poster child for the Islamic State extremist group. He grew up in Molenbeek.
HASNA AITBOULAHCEN: The 26-year-old French woman of Moroccan origin is said to have been Abaaoud‘s cousin.
CHAKIB AKROUH: A 25-year-old man of Belgian-Moroccan nationality, who detonated a suicide bomb during the police raid. He is also suspected of taking part in the November 13 attacks. The former Molenbeek resident left Belgium in 2013 and later joined the Islamic State in Syria. He was sentenced in absentia to jail in Belgium.
- The suspects still at large:
SALAH ABDESLAM: The 26-year-old brother of Brahim Abdeslam. Also a Frenchman who had lived in Molenbeek, he is reported to possibly be in Syria. He is suspected of having joined his brother in targeting restaurants and bars during the Paris attacks.
MOHAMED ABRINI: Belgium has issued an international arrest warrant for this 31-year-old, who was filmed on November 11 driving a Renault Clio car that was later used in the Paris attacks. The video showed Abrini together with Salah Abdeslam at a petrol station in northern France. Abrini is said to be of Belgian-Moroccan nationality.
TWO MEN USING FALSE DOCUMENTS: Belgium has asked the public for help in finding two men who travelled with Salah Abdeslam to Hungary on September 9. They identified themselves with fake Belgian identity cards in the names of Samir Bouzid and Soufiane Kayal. Other activities linked to the Paris attacks have also been carried out in these names.
- Arrests in France:
JAWAD BENDAOUD: He told media before being taken into custody that he had provided the Saint-Denis apartment in which Abaaoud was killed on November 18, not knowing that he was dealing with terrorists. He faces terrorism charges.
- Arrests in Belgium:
MOHAMMED AMRI AND HAMZA ATTOU: Amri, 27 years old at the time of his arrest, and Attou, 21 years old at the time of his arrest, reportedly picked up Salah Abdeslam in Paris after the attacks and brought him back to Brussels. They have been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
ALI O: A French resident of Molenbeek, 31 years old at the time of his arrest. He is believed to have given a car ride to Salah Abdeslam while he was on the run. He has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
LAZEZ A: A Moroccan resident of the Brussels neighbourhood of Jette, 39 years old at the time of his arrest. He is also suspected of having given a car ride to Salah Abdeslam while he was on the run. Two firearms and blood traces were found in his car. He has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
ABDELLAH C: Reportedly a friend of Abrini. He has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
MOHAMED B: Charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. A car that he hired was reportedly seen near safe houses in Belgium where the Paris attacks are believed to have been prepared.
SAMIR Z: A French resident of Molenbeek, born in 1995, who has been charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. He was detained at the Brussels airport, where he wanted to board an early-morning flight to Morocco. He is suspected of having tried twice in 2015 to leave for Syria and is an acquaintance of Hadfi.
PIERRE N: A Belgian resident of Molenbeek, born in 1987, who also is said to have known Hadfi. He was charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, but has since been released from custody.
ABDOULLAH C: A Belgian national, born in 1985, who has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. He had several contacts with Aitboulahcen.
AYOUB B: A Belgian national, 22 years old at the time of his arrest. He was charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist group, but has since been released from custody.
ZAKARIA J: A Belgian national, born in 1986, who is said to have been an acquaintance of Abaaoud. He has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
- Arrest in Turkey:
AHMED DAHMANI: A Belgian of Moroccan descent who was detained at a luxury hotel in Antalya, 26 years old at the time of his arrest. He had reportedly been planning to cross the border into Syria. He is suspected of having been in contact with the Paris attackers.
- Arrest in Morocco:
UNNAMED SUSPECT: A Belgian man of Moroccan origin, who was linked to the mastermind of the Paris attacks and is believed to have travelled from Belgium to Syria with one of the eventual Paris suicide bombers. He was first affiliated with the Syrian al-Nusra front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, before joining Islamic State.
Source: http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/backgroundthe-suspects-linked-to-the-paris-terrorist-attacks_434785.html
Here is what is known about different suspects, based on police information and media reports.
- The attackers who died in Paris on November 13:
OMAR ISMAIL MOSTEFAI: A 29-year-old Frenchman born in the southern Paris suburb of Courcouronnes, who was among the attackers at the Bataclan concert hall. He was known to police as a small-time criminal, but had never been jailed. He had also been under watch since 2010 for radicalization and reportedly spent time in Syria.
SAMY AMIMOUR: A 28-year-old Frenchman born in Paris, the second of the Bataclan attackers. The former public bus driver was known to law enforcement for links to terrorists and had attempted to go to Yemen. He was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued in 2013, at which time his family says he had gone to Syria.
FOUED MOHAMMED AGGAD: A 23-year-old Frenchman from Strasbourg, who was identified as the third Bataclan attacker. His mother reportedly got a text message from Syria informing her of her son‘s death "as a martyr." He is believed to have gone to Syria at the end of 2013.
BRAHIM ABDESLAM: A 31-year-old Frenchman who had lived in Belgium and blew himself up in the restaurant Comptoir Voltaire. He reportedly managed a now-shuttered bar in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek, where neighbours said marijuana was often consumed.
BILAL HADFI: A 20-year-old Frenchman who had lived in Belgium and blew himself up near the Stade de France football stadium. There are media reports that he too spent time in Syria, having joined the Islamic State extremist group.
THE MAN WITH THE SYRIAN PASSPORT: A Syrian passport issued to 25-year-old Ahmad al-Mohammad was found near the body of a second Stade de France attacker. But it is thought to be a fake. Whoever used the passport is suspected of having infiltrated the migrant flows coursing through Europe.
STADE DE FRANCE ATTACKER No. 3: Still to be identified. He may also have infiltrated migrant flows.
- The suspects killed on November 18 during a police raid in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis:
ABDELHAMID ABAAOUD: A 28-year-old Belgian national of Moroccan origin, suspected of masterminding and participating in the November 13 attacks. Abaaoud had been in Syria since 2014 and was a poster child for the Islamic State extremist group. He grew up in Molenbeek.
HASNA AITBOULAHCEN: The 26-year-old French woman of Moroccan origin is said to have been Abaaoud‘s cousin.
CHAKIB AKROUH: A 25-year-old man of Belgian-Moroccan nationality, who detonated a suicide bomb during the police raid. He is also suspected of taking part in the November 13 attacks. The former Molenbeek resident left Belgium in 2013 and later joined the Islamic State in Syria. He was sentenced in absentia to jail in Belgium.
- The suspects still at large:
SALAH ABDESLAM: The 26-year-old brother of Brahim Abdeslam. Also a Frenchman who had lived in Molenbeek, he is reported to possibly be in Syria. He is suspected of having joined his brother in targeting restaurants and bars during the Paris attacks.
MOHAMED ABRINI: Belgium has issued an international arrest warrant for this 31-year-old, who was filmed on November 11 driving a Renault Clio car that was later used in the Paris attacks. The video showed Abrini together with Salah Abdeslam at a petrol station in northern France. Abrini is said to be of Belgian-Moroccan nationality.
TWO MEN USING FALSE DOCUMENTS: Belgium has asked the public for help in finding two men who travelled with Salah Abdeslam to Hungary on September 9. They identified themselves with fake Belgian identity cards in the names of Samir Bouzid and Soufiane Kayal. Other activities linked to the Paris attacks have also been carried out in these names.
- Arrests in France:
JAWAD BENDAOUD: He told media before being taken into custody that he had provided the Saint-Denis apartment in which Abaaoud was killed on November 18, not knowing that he was dealing with terrorists. He faces terrorism charges.
- Arrests in Belgium:
MOHAMMED AMRI AND HAMZA ATTOU: Amri, 27 years old at the time of his arrest, and Attou, 21 years old at the time of his arrest, reportedly picked up Salah Abdeslam in Paris after the attacks and brought him back to Brussels. They have been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
ALI O: A French resident of Molenbeek, 31 years old at the time of his arrest. He is believed to have given a car ride to Salah Abdeslam while he was on the run. He has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
LAZEZ A: A Moroccan resident of the Brussels neighbourhood of Jette, 39 years old at the time of his arrest. He is also suspected of having given a car ride to Salah Abdeslam while he was on the run. Two firearms and blood traces were found in his car. He has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
ABDELLAH C: Reportedly a friend of Abrini. He has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
MOHAMED B: Charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. A car that he hired was reportedly seen near safe houses in Belgium where the Paris attacks are believed to have been prepared.
SAMIR Z: A French resident of Molenbeek, born in 1995, who has been charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. He was detained at the Brussels airport, where he wanted to board an early-morning flight to Morocco. He is suspected of having tried twice in 2015 to leave for Syria and is an acquaintance of Hadfi.
PIERRE N: A Belgian resident of Molenbeek, born in 1987, who also is said to have known Hadfi. He was charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, but has since been released from custody.
ABDOULLAH C: A Belgian national, born in 1985, who has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. He had several contacts with Aitboulahcen.
AYOUB B: A Belgian national, 22 years old at the time of his arrest. He was charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist group, but has since been released from custody.
ZAKARIA J: A Belgian national, born in 1986, who is said to have been an acquaintance of Abaaoud. He has been charged with playing a role in terrorist murders and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization.
- Arrest in Turkey:
AHMED DAHMANI: A Belgian of Moroccan descent who was detained at a luxury hotel in Antalya, 26 years old at the time of his arrest. He had reportedly been planning to cross the border into Syria. He is suspected of having been in contact with the Paris attackers.
- Arrest in Morocco:
UNNAMED SUSPECT: A Belgian man of Moroccan origin, who was linked to the mastermind of the Paris attacks and is believed to have travelled from Belgium to Syria with one of the eventual Paris suicide bombers. He was first affiliated with the Syrian al-Nusra front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, before joining Islamic State.
Source: http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/backgroundthe-suspects-linked-to-the-paris-terrorist-attacks_434785.html
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