AN ENDURING THREAT: EUROPE’S ISLAMIST TERROR NETWORKS THEN AND NOW 162 attached. He is suspected of having been a member of IS brigade Katibat al-Battar and has been referred 163 to as an IS military commander, acting as the group’s “Emir of War” in Deir Ezzor. Movements: 164 Abaaoud travelled back and forth between Syria and Europe via Greece several times and boasted of the ease with which he travelled back and forth between Syria and Belgium in IS propaganda.165 He is reported to have travelled to the UK in the summer of 2015, using a fake passport to enter the 166 country through Kent before travelling on to London. Greek media has also reported that he stayed at an apartment in Pangrati, Athens, in January 2015 Criminal history: 167 Before travelling to Syria, Abaaoud was described as a “repeat offender”. In 2006 he was convicted for concealing stolen goods, and three years later for violence and resisting police officers. In 2010, he broke into a garage in Ottignies, near Brussels, with Salah Abdeslam, and was convicted in 2011. The same year he was convicted of theft with violence and given 18 months in prison, before being jailed in 2012 for hitting someone in Dendermonde. Known to the authorities: Western intelligence agencies were aware of Abaaoud’s role within IS by early 168 2015 and were working hard to capture him. It is also likely that he had been on the radar of Belgian authorities once he began to associate with the network of extremists around Khalid Zerkani, which had been being monitored since April 2012. Abaaoud was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 20 years 169 for his role with the group in early 2015. Networks and associates: -! Brussels attacks (March 2016): Najim Laachraoui [became associated with Abaaoud in Syria; 170 Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, Khalid el-Bakraoui [Abaaoud’s fingerprints were found at the Charleroi 171 property rented by the el-Bakraoui brothers, and his fingerprints and DNA were found at an 172 apartment the brothers rented in Schaerbeek]. -! Paris attacks (November 2015): Salah Abdeslam, Brahim Abdeslam, Chakib Akrouh, Sami Amimour, Bilal Hadfi [Abaaoud is suspected of being a member of IS brigade Katibat al-Battar, 173 of which Hadfi was a member]; Ahmad al-Mohammed, M al-Mahmod, Omar Ismail Mostefai, 174 Foued Mohammed Aggad [fellow Paris attackers]. -! Zerkani network: Khalid Zerkani [Abaaoud was given a 20 year sentence in absentia in connection with his involvement with Zerkani’s network],175 Gelel Attar [Attar was given a five ! ! 162 Van Vlierden, G, ‘PROFILE: PARIS ATTACK RINGLEADER ABDELHAMID ABAAOUD’, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, 15 December 2015. 163 Gauthier-Villars, D. et al., ‘Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Alleged Ringleader of Paris Attacks, Was ‘Emir of War’ in Syria’, Wall Street Journal, 19 November 2015, available at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/alleged-mastermind-of-paris-attacks-was-emir-of-war-in-syria-1447907485, last visited: 9 August 2016. 164 Whitehead, T. and Colin Freeman, ‘Brussels explosions: The Isil terror cell that spread across Europe’, The Telegraph, 22 March 2016. 165 ‘Paris attacks: Extracts from Islamic State Dabiq interview with Abdelhamid Abaaoud – alleged mastermind of carnage’, International Business Times, 16 November 2015, available at: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/paris-attacks-extracts-islamic-state-dabiq-interview-abdelhamid-abaaoud-alleged-mastermind-1528982; and ‘Sick taunts of the Paris mastermind: Jihadist boasts of freely crossing Europe's borders and mocks police who had him in their clutches’, Daily Mail Online, 17 November 2015, available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3321335/Sick-taunts-Paris-mastermind-Jihadi-boasts-freely-crossing-Europe-s-border-mocks-police-clutches.html. Both last visited: 9 August 2016. 166 Stone, J., ‘Paris attacks ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud 'visited UK over the summer', intelligence agencies believe’, Independent, 26 December 2015,. 167 Faiola, A. and Souad Mekhennet, ‘The Islamic State creates a new type of jihadist: Part terrorist, part gangster’, The Washington Post, 20 December 2015. 168 ‘IS in Europe: The race to the death’, BBC News, 23 March 2016. 169 ‘Khalid Zerkani, Brussels’ jihadist preacher who ‘perverted a generation’’, France 24, 26 March 2016. 170 ‘Belgian police identify three safe houses used by Paris suspects’, The Express Tribune, 13 January 2016. 171 Chrisafis, A, and Henley, J, ‘Brussels suicide bombers identified as police hunt suspect caught on CCTV’, Guardian, 23 March 2016. 172 Kroet, C, ‘Belgian police identify third Paris attack safe house’, Politico, 13 January 2016. 173 Van Vlierden, G, ‘PROFILE: PARIS ATTACK RINGLEADER ABDELHAMID ABAAOUD’, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, 15 December 2015. 174 ‘Paris attacks: Who were the attackers?’, BBC News, 27 April 2016, available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34832512, last visited: 9 August 2016. 175 ‘Khalid Zerkani, Brussels’ jihadist preacher who ‘perverted a generation’’, France 24, 26 March 2016. ! ! 19 !