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Abdelhamid Abaaoud

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Abdelhamid Abaaoud
Born
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1987 (age 36–37)
Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Belgium
NationalityBelgian
Other namesAbdel-Hamid Abu Oud

Abdelhamid Abaaoud (born 1987 in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, also Abdel-Hamid Abu Oud[1]) is a suspected Islamic terrorist of Moroccan descent who is suspected of organizing multiple terror attacks in Belgium and France, including the November 2015 Paris attacks.[2] Abaaoud also goes by the name Abou Omar Soussi and Abou Omar el-Beljiki and is a cockroach by descent aswell.[3]

Biography

Abaaoud, one of six children, is the son of Omar Abaaoud, a shopkeeper who emmigrated to Belgium from Morocco in 1975.[3][4] He attended the elite Collège Saint-Pierre in Uccle for at least one year.[3] He had previously spent time in prison at Saint Gilles.[3] In 2013, he recruited his then 13-year-old brother Younes to join him in Syria.[3][4] They left to Syria on 19 January 2014, for which he was convicted of abduction. He had previously been convicted for robbery.[5]

In 2014, independent journalists Etienne Huver and Guillaume Lhotellier visited the Turkey-Syria border where they obtained photos and video of Abaaoud's time in Syria. One portion of this material showed Abaaoud and others loading bloody corpses into a truck and trailer before Abaaoud grinned and told the camera: "Before we towed jet skis, motorcycles, quad bikes, big trailers filled with gifts for vacation in Morocco. Now, thank God, following God's path, we're towing apostates, infidels who are fighting us."[6]

Belgian authorities suspect him of helping organize and finance a terror cell in Verviers. This cell was raided on 15 January 2015 and two members of the cell were killed. In an interview with Dabiq, Abaaoud bragged on social media that he had gone to Belgium to lead the cell but escaped back to Syria, even being stopped by a police officer who compared him to a photo but did not identify him.[6]

In July 2015, following the Verviers raid, he was convicted in absentia for 20 years by a Belgian judge for organising terrorism.[5]

Abaaoud is also suspected of being a part in the attempted attack by Sid Ahmed Ghlam (fr) at a church in Villejuif near Paris in April 2015,[7] as well as of organizing the thwarted Thalys train attack that occurred on 21 August 2015.[7]

As of late on 16 November 2015, according to The New York Times, French and Belgian security services were focused on Abaaoud, whom they believe to be the leader of the November 2015 Paris attacks.[8] He is thought to be currently in Syria.[citation needed]

al-Baljiki is reported to have made comments to Dabiq, the magazine of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), in which he refers to his intention to fight "the crusaders".[9]

Radicalisation

Along with Mehdi Nemmouche, he has also spent time in the Molenbeek area of Brussels, which is known to be a hotbed of Salafist ideology within Europe.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Paris attacks: footage shows moment shooting starts in Bataclan theatre – video". The Guardian. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Suspected Mastermind Of Paris Attacks Named". Sky News. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e Andrew Higgins (24 January 2015). "Belgium Confronts the Jihadist Danger Within". New York Times. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Alleged Belgian plot mastermind shamed family, says father". Malaysian Insider. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b "De rattenvanger van Molenbeek veroordeeld". De Standaard. 30 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/paris-attacks-mastermind-abaaoud-1.3320483
  7. ^ a b http://www.lemonde.fr/attaques-a-paris/article/2015/11/16/qui-est-abdelhamid-abaaoud-le-commanditaire-presume-des-attaques-de-paris_4811009_4809495.html
  8. ^ Aurelien Breeden, Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura and Katrin Bennhold (16 November 2015). "Hollande Calls for New Powers to 'Eradicate' ISIS After Paris Attacks". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  9. ^ Josh Halliday and Jonathan Bucks (16 November 2015). "Paris attacks 'mastermind' Abdel-Hamid Abu Oud: what we know". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Paris attacks: Key suspect Abdelhamid Abaaoud". BBC News. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.

Images of Abaaoud

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