Suspected mastermind of Paris attacks reportedly identified as Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud

A French official has identified the suspected mastermind as Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud, and says he is believed linked to thwarted attacks on a Paris-bound high-speed train and Paris area church.

The official, who has direct knowledge of the investigation, was not authorized to be publicly identified as speaking about the ongoing probe.

Abaaoud was identified earlier this year as the leader of a Belgian jihadist cell that was dismantled by local police, The Guardian reported in January. At the time, The Guardian described him as "a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin."

"According to Belgian media, the group's suspected leader, Abaaoud, spent time fighting alongside Islamic State (Isis) in Syria," according to The Guardian. "He was known to security forces after appearing in an Isis video, at the wheel of a car transporting mutilated bodies to a mass grave."

Seven people are in custody in Belgium suspected of links to the attacks and an international arrest warrant has been issued for a Belgian-born Frenchman believed involved in the attacks and who is still at large.

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