French officials named Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud as the suspected mastermind behind the Paris terrorist attacks, which resulted in 129 people killed and 356 injured on Friday, Sky News reports.
An unnamed French official told USA Today that Abaaoud is suspected of helping plan an attack on passengers riding on the Paris-bound high-speed train this year. he gunmen were thwarted and overpowered by three Americans, two of whom are military servicemen. The official also said Abaaoud may have helped plan the foiled terrorist attack on the Saint Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte Church in Villejuif, a suburb of Paris, last April.
RTL radio in France reported that the 27-year-old Abaaoud is “one of the most active Isis executioners” in Syria.
The UK Independent notes that Abaaoud hails from the hotbed terror linked Belgian neighborhood of Molenbeek. The UK Independent reports that Abaaoud allegedly oversaw the whole attack plan and funded it. His phone was traced to Greece.
Abaaoud, who also goes by the name Abu Umar al Baljiki, is of Moroccan origin and is thought to be in Syria now, a source close to the French investigation told Reuters.
Seven people are currently in custody in Belgium that have suspected links to Friday’s terror attacks in Paris. One more suspect is still at large and an international arrest warrant was issued for a Belgian-born Frenchman.