Abdelhamid Abaaoud

Childhood; Abaaouds father was born in Morocco but reportedly moved to Belgium in
1975, Abaaoud lived on Future Street in Molenbeek, a small, predominantly Muslim
neighborhood in Belgium with many Moroccan residents, which has recently acquired the
unflattering nickname "jihadi capital of Europe.
The country of 11 million people has sent, in per capita terms, more foreign fighters to
Syria than any other European nation. Youth unemployment in Belgium is very high, and,
as Hind Fraihi, a journalist who went undercover to study radicals in Molenbeek, These
young people dont have a job or a future, so they are very easy to indoctrinate if you give
them a big story, a big collective story, a story of our society, a dream, an aspiration, an
idealism.
Abaaoud's father, Omar who moved to Belgium from Morocco about 40 years ago
owned a clothing store, and the young Abaaoud, who loved soccer, had the chance to go
to one of the best schools in Brussels, the Catholic-run Collge Saint-Pierre dUccle.
However, he only went there for a year, according to the New York Times, and soon
started to hang out with a group of friends that often got in trouble. Two of his friends
were Ibrahim and Salah Abdeslam. Ibrahim blew himself up at the Comptoir Voltaire caf;
Salah is the target of a massive manhunt.
First Arrests; Abaaoud was first arrested for theft in 2006. In December 2010, Abaaoud
and Ibrahim Abdeslam were sent to prison after they tried to break into a parking
garage. Omar Abaaoud believes that his son was radicalized there. The pair were
released a month later.
The move to Syria; In late 2013 or early 2014, Abaaoud moved to Syria and was quickly
on the radar of those tracking ISIS militants. He appeared in a gruesome video around
February, in which he drove a pickup truck dragging corpses behind it. "Before we towed
jet skis, motorcycles, quad bikes, big trailers filled with presents for the holidays in
Morocco," he said smiling. "Now, thank God, were towing those who are fighting us, those
who are fighting Islam."
In another video, he explained his reasons for going to Syria. All my life I have seen the
blood of Muslims flow. I pray that God breaks the backs of those who oppose him [and]
exterminates them."
In 2014, Abaaoud's 13-year-old brother, Younes, went to Syria. It was the last straw for his
family. At the time, according to AFP, his father told local reporters, "Why in the name of
God, would he want to kill innocent Belgians? Our family owes everything to this country.
Abdelhamid has brought shame on our family. Our lives have been destroyed ... I never
want to see him again."
His parents left Belgium and returned to Morocco, where Abaaoud was born. In July 2015,
Abaaoud was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in Belgium for recruiting terrorists.
The accused obviously never appeared to defend himself and was tried in absentia.

Terrorist Attacks; He changed his ideals from recruiting to planning attacks in Europe.
Officials believe he helped put together the attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium in
May, a shooting that killed four people.
French authorities said they believed that Abaaoud was linked to including the train
attack stopped by five passengers who tackled the shooter (also from Molenbeek) and
another attack in Paris this April that ended after the alleged almost-shooter accidentally
shot himself in the leg.
France Attempt;
Why? Under the code name "Operation Chammal " French military forces have
participated in air strikes against targets in Iraq and Syria since 19 September 2014. In
October 2015 , France attacked targets in Syria for the first time . France has been more
active in Syria than any other European Member State. The policy towards the civil war
has been aimed at removing President Bashar al-Assad from power and launching
airstrikes in Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS or Daesh,
calling itself the Islamic State). The US has led the coalition carrying out air strikes in Syria
for the last 15 months while Britain has chosen to remain more active in neighbouring Iraq.
ISIS claimed the Paris attacks were a response to Frances campaign against its fighters
and insults against Islams prophet, an argument that was also voiced by the lone wolves
who attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices and the Kosher supermarket in January 2015.