Abdelhamid Abaaoud
 Abdelhamid Abaaoud  | |
|---|---|
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| Died | November 2015 (Age 26) |
| Supposed perpetrator of | 2015-11 Paris attacks |
The official "mastermind" behind the mass murder in Paris | |
Abdelhamid Abaaoud or Abdel-Hamid Abu Oud is a 27 year old Belgian national of Moroccan origin who was named by French investigators as responsible for the mass murder in Paris of 13 November 2015 which killed at least 129 people.[1] On 19 November 2015, Abaaoud's death was announced by the Paris prosecutor following a police shootout during a raid on a flat in the Paris suburb of Saint Denis.[citation needed]
Background
Abdelhamid Abaaoud grew up in Molenbeek, a district of Brussels known for its many Arab immigrant. The Independent stated that he is an associate of Salah Abdeslam, whose brother Brahim died in the Paris attack.[2]
Abaaoud and Salah Abdeslam were both jailed in Belgium in 2010 for armed robbery.[3]
Terror cell
Belgian authorities have suggested that Abaaoud may have helped helped organise and finance a terror cell in Verviers, eastern Belgium.[citation needed]
Foiled attack
An IS propaganda video in 2014 showed Abaaoud in a vehicle that was dragging mutilated bodies behind it.[citation needed] Abaaoud was also linked to a foiled terror attack aboard a Thalys train in August this year. A gunman, Ayoub El-Khazzani, was overpowered by passengers aboard the train in northern France. In that case, and in a foiled attack on a church in Villejuif, France, investigators listed Abaaoud as a suspect.[citation needed]
The BBC stated that Abaaoud persuaded his 13-year-old brother to join him in Syria.[4]
