Belgian Police Knew Where Paris Attacker Was Likely Hiding—and Did Nothing

With Belgian officials struggling to explain how they missed crucial information leading up to Tuesday’s devastating Brussels bombings, local police in the northern Belgian city of Mechelen admitted on Friday that as far back as December, they knew where the sole surviving Paris attacker might be hiding in the Belgian capital, but failed to pass the address to the country’s anti-terrorist unit—even though Europe’s biggest manhunt in years was underway.

As details mounted about the gaffes and missteps of Belgian officials that might have averted this week’s bloodshed, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in the city for talks with Belgium’s government about how to dismantle ISIS’s terror networks. U.S. officials told reporters that at least two Americans were among the 31 people killed in Tuesday’s suicide bombings, two which occurred in a crowded airport terminal, and a third on an underground train in central Brussels. ISIS has claimed responsibility. “We are all of us going to help,” Kerry told the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel at a joint press conference in Brussels. “We will renew our vow to come together against a common enemy to keep our people safe.”

http://time.com/4272149/brussels-attacks-terror-investigation-mistake/?xid=time_socialflow_twitter

 

 

BELGIAN POLICE KNEW WHERE PARIS ATTACKER WAS LIKELY HIDING—AND DID NOTHING

As details mounted about the gaffes and missteps of Belgian officials that might have averted this week’s bloodshed, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in the city for talks with Belgium’s government about how to dismantle ISIS’s terror networks. U.S. officials told reporters that at least two Americans were among the 31 people killed in Tuesday’s suicide bombings, two which occurred in a crowded airport terminal, and a third on an underground train in central Brussels. ISIS has claimed responsibility. “We are all of us going to help,” Kerry told the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel at a joint press conference in Brussels. “We will renew our vow to come together against a common enemy to keep our people safe.”

http://www.infowars.com/belgian-police-knew-where-paris-attacker-was-likely-hiding-and-did-nothing/

 

BRUSSELS ATTACK: OPERATION GLADIO EVENT TO FINALIZE SURVEILLANCE STATE

Both men were convicted criminals. Ibrahim was sentenced to nine years in prison for opening fire on police with a Kalashnikov rifle during an armed robbery on a stockbroker and Khalid was sentenced to five years probation for carjackings. Khalid was in possession of a Kalashnikov at the time of his arrest.

Najim Laachraoui, named as the third attacker, was the subject of a manhunt in connection with the Paris attack last November. Laachraoui was named as an accomplice of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested in the Molenbeek district of Brussels earlier this week. Abdeslam hid in plain sight for months.

http://www.infowars.com/brussels-attack-operation-gladio-event-to-finalize-surveillance-state/

A View of ISIS’s Evolution in New Details of Paris Attacks

Investigators found crates’ worth of disposable cellphones. All around Paris, they found traces of improved bomb-making materials. And they began piecing together a multilayered terrorist attack that evaded detection until much too late.

In the immediate aftermath of the Paris terror attacks on Nov. 13, French investigators came face to face with the reality that they had missed earlier signs that the Islamic State was building the machinery to mount sustained terrorist strikes in Europe.

Now, the arrest in Belgium on Friday of Salah Abdeslam, who officials say was the logistics chief for the Paris attacks, offers a crucial opportunity to address the many unanswered questions surrounding how they were planned. Mr. Abdeslam, who was transferred to the penitentiary complex in Bruges on Saturday, is believed to be the only direct participant in the attacks who is still alive.

Much of what the authorities already know is in a 55-page report compiled in the weeks after the attack by the French antiterrorism police, presented privately to France’s Interior Ministry; a copy was recently obtained by The New York Times. While much about the Paris attacks has been learned from witnesses and others, the report has offered new perspectives about the plot that had not yet been publicized.

The attackers, sent by the Islamic State’s external operations wing, were well versed in a range of terrorism tactics — including making suicide vests and staging coordinated bombings while others led shooting sprees — to hamper the police response, the report shows. They exploited weaknesses in Europe’s border controls to slip in and out undetected, and worked with a high-quality forger in Belgium to acquire false documents.

The scale of the network that supported the attacks, which killed 130 people, has also surprised officials, as President François Hollande of France acknowledged on Friday. As of Saturday, there are 18 people in detention in six countries on suspicion of assisting the attackers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/world/europe/a-view-of-isiss-evolution-in-new-details-of-paris-attacks.html?_r=1

BACKGROUND: ‘Refugee’ Paris-Linked Terrorist Hunted Through Brussels Yesterday

Experts are already saying that today’s attacks in Brussels are likely to be linked to Paris – many of the Paris attackers were from Molenbeek in Brussels.

The bomb maker was only identified after the arrest and capture of Salah Abdeslam (pictured above) on Friday. He planned to be a suicide bomber during the Paris attack before changing his mind and going on the run. His lawyer has now said he may become an informer.

The DNA of Najim Laachraoui, 24, was found on two explosive belts – one used at the Bataclan theatre and the other at the Stade de France – and also in a Brussels apartment that was used as a bomb factory.

Police also released the details of one Mohamed Abrini, 31, who was pictured driving the Renault Cleo car used during the Paris attacks.

Mr. Laachraoui is said to be a well known Jihadist. He traveled to Syria in 2013 and was pick up from the station by captured Salah Abdeslam.

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/03/22/background-refugee-paris-linked-terrorist-hunted-through-brussels-yesterday/

Tags:

Breitbart London, terrorism, Europe Migrant Crisis, Brussels, Paris Attackes