The alleged 'mastermind' of the Paris terror attacks bragged about how he evaded police earlier this year
Authorities on Monday identified the ringleader of the attacks that killed 129 people and injured hundreds more as "Belgium's most notorious jihadi," Abdelhamid Abaaoud. A group of eight terrorists took hostages, detonated suicide vests, and shot people in attacks across Paris on Friday night. Police are now seeking Abaaoud.
Abaaoud has reportedly escaped to Syria and is believed to be "the brains behind several planned attacks in Europe," according to Reuters.
In his interview with Dabiq magazine, a slick ISIS propaganda publication, Abaaoud talked about how he went to Belgium to mount attacks against Westerners.
"We spent months trying to find a way into Europe, and by Allah's strength, we succeeded in finally making our way to Belgium," he said. "We were then able to obtain weapons and set up a safe house while we planned to carry out operations against the crusaders."
Their plot was thwarted - police raided a Belgian terror cell in January and killed two of his suspected accomplices, according to The Associated Press. The group had reportedly planned to kill police officers in Belgium.
Abaaoud said after the raid, the police released his photo, and he was nearly recognized by an officer who reportedly stopped him.
"I was even stopped by an officer who contemplated me so as to compare me to the picture, but he let me go, as he did not see the resemblance!" Abaaoud said. "This was nothing but a gift from Allah."
He then boasted about how he had been known to Western intelligence agents, who he said arrested people all over Europe in an effort to get to him.
"The intelligence knew me from before as I had been previously imprisoned by them," he said. "... So they gathered intelligence agents from all over the world - from Europe and America - in order to detain me. They arrested Muslims in Greece, Spain, France, and Belgium in order to apprehend me. Subhanallah, all those arrested were not even connected to our plans!"
This appears to have some basis in truth - the BBC reported in January that authorities seeking Abaaoud had detained individuals in Greece.
Abaaoud also taunted intelligence agencies who failed to capture him.
"I was able to leave and come to [Syria] despite being chased after by so many intelligence agencies," he said. "All this proves that a Muslim should not fear the bloated image of the crusader intelligence. My name and picture were all over the news yet I was able to stay in their homeland, plan operations against them, and leave safely when doing so became necessary."