Paris attacks suspect smuggled jihad fighters into Belgium

One of the men suspected of being involved in the Paris terrorist attacks a year ago smuggled at least 10 jihadi fighters into Belgium, who were later involved in the Paris attacks and the Brussels bombings. The information was released at the weekend by the Centre for the Analysis of Terrorism, based in Paris.

Salah Abdeslam allegedly brought the men into Belgium by car, during four return trips from Belgium to France. The report also details the link between one of the main planners of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, and the man who was overpowered while attempting an attack on a Thalys train from Brussels to Paris.

The two men stayed at a Budapest hotel together, and after the police in Verviers raided a terrorist house, Abaaoud came to Belgium to co-ordinate activities. Meanwhile, the State Security intelligence service has issued a warning about the need for serious follow-up of young men who become radicalised while in prison.

Abdeslam is one example, according to his former lawyer Sven Mary, who told the Dutch Volkskrant at the weekend that Abdeslam “has become a real Muslim fundamentalist. He has been given a heroic stature by presenting him as the brains behind the attacks. He now believes it himself”.

Photo: ©Virginie Lefour/BELGA