Network behind Paris terror attacks had links in Britain, says report
Network behind Paris terror attacks had links in Britain, says report
The network behind the Paris attacks has links to people in Britain, according to Western officials cited in the Wall Street Journal. Several people suspected of having connections to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged Islamic State ringleader of the attacks, are based in Birmingham, according to two officials. Some are thought to be of Moroccan heritage. The officials claim at least one person connected to the suicide bombings and shootings travelled to Britain beforehand. A total of 130 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks on the Stade de France, the Bataclan concert hall and restaurants in the French capital on 13 November.
You would be expecting us and the security services to be working flat out to look for any possible links and connections of that network to anything in the U.K. I can give you 100% assurance we are doing that.
UK senior counter-terror officer Mark Rowley
The manhunt that followed centred on Belgium, where some of the attackers had been living. The Wall Street Journal report comes as Belgian police released images of two men they believe aided Salah Abdeslam, who was dubbed "Public Enemy Number One" after the attacks. The two - who used fake IDs with the names Samir Bouzid and Soufiane Kayal - are described as "armed and dangerous". It means a total of four people are actively being hunted by Belgian police. Authorities continue to seek Abdeslam, who is thought to have fled to Belgium after the killings, and Mohamed Abrini, who is accused of driving Abdeslam to Paris. Abaaoud, a Belgian national of Moroccan descent, died during a raid by French police days after the attacks.
