Paris Attacks: Syrian Migrant Was Among the Bombers Attacker in Paris assaults that killed 129 had entered Europe last month
http://www.wsj.com/articles/paris-attacks-syrian-migrant-was-among-the-bombers-1447547354?mod=trending_now_4
PARIS—One of the assailants in Friday’s deadly attacks in and near the French capital recently entered Europe as a Syrian migrant, people familiar with the matter said, exposing gaps in the continent’s security as it copes with the biggest refugee crisis in decades.
French investigators were able to match the remains of one of the suicide bombers who attacked France’s main stadium to a Syrian passport that was used to enter Europe’s free-travel area and apply for asylum, the people familiar with the matter said.
European security officials have worried that Islamic State operatives would bring terror by mixing with the cohort of Iraqi and Syrian migrants who are fleeing war each week.
Screening migrants represents a formidable security challenge at a time when European intelligence agencies are straining to keep track of thousands of their own nationals who have rallied to Islamic State, officials say.
France, which blamed the Sunni insurgency for Friday’s attacks, faces an especially difficult task because its security services have been suffering from what they describe as a relative blindness in the region since Paris stopped cooperating with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“This is what we had feared,” a senior French official said.
Greek authorities said the holder of the passport found at the stadium near Paris had been registered as a refugee on the island of Leros on Oct. 3.
Twenty-four hours after gunmen wreaked havoc at the sports arena, as well as at a concert hall and through Paris’s streets, leaving 129 dead and hundreds wounded, French prosecutors have begun piecing together the scenario of coordinated attacks.
Paris prosecutor François Molins said the terror group consisted of seven members, not eight as his office had said late Friday.
He confirmed a Syrian passport had been found near one of the attackers but stopped short of saying it was his. The prosecutors said he couldn’t disclose certain sensitive details of the investigation.
One of the attackers was a 29-year-old French national who was on a watch list for his alleged radical beliefs, Mr. Molins said. Late Saturday, police detained a brother and the father of the Frenchman for questioning. Under France’s counterterrorism rules, they can be held in custody for 96 hours before prosecutors have to press charges or release the men.
Prominent buildings around the world were lit up in the colors of the French flag in solidarity with the victims of the Paris attacks that left more than 100 dead, and were condemned by leaders from countries around the world. Photo: Getty Images
French investigators were working with their Belgian colleagues after finding that a car used in the concert-hall attack had been rented by a French national residing in Belgium, Mr. Molins said.
Belgian authorities said that person had been apprehended while driving another car Saturday. Three men were in police custody related to the car rental, Belgian prosecutors said.
Overall, the attacks unfolded in little over half an hour, according to Mr. Molins.
Shortly before 9:30 p.m., two attackers set off suicide vests at the stadium, killing themselves and one other person.
Minutes later, gunmen in a black car drove around eastern Paris, firing on customers at a bar and a restaurant. Forensic police have collected more than 100 cartridges at the scene, Mr. Molins said.
Almost simultaneously, another group shot at other restaurants in the same districts.
At 9:40 p.m., one of the cars arrived at the concert hall, Le Bataclan. Three gunmen entered the theater and killed 89 people.
At 9:53 p.m., another attacker set off his suicide vest—identical in every aspect to the ones worn by the other militants—killing only himself, the prosecutor said.
All the gunmen wore suicide vests containing acetone peroxide, a volatile explosive used in other terrorist attacks such as the London bombings of 2005, Mr. Molins said. All the attackers either killed themselves by detonating their vests or were shot by police, he said.
Earlier Saturday, French President François Hollande vowed to retaliate against Islamic State, saying the attacks had been “prepared and planned from the outside, with accomplices inside.”
Comments are closed.
