Paris Attackers’ Names Listed In Discovered Islamic State Files
The names of Paris attackers from last fall’s horrific violent events have appeared in files that were leaked from the Islamic State militant group. German media reports have relayed the information discovered from the unintentional leaks by the IS group.
Three names were revealed in the attacks and those three individuals are believed to be the attackers behind the worst of the attacks which occurred at the Bataclan theatre. The specific attacks in the location resulted in 90 deaths.
Recently, claims that security may have also been in on the attack on the Bataclan are being made, as Russia Today notes.
The BBC shares what additional details were uncovered from the leaked files.
“The IS files, obtained by German, UK and Syrian opposition media, are said to identify thousands of jihadist recruits from at least 40 countries.German officials have said the files can be assumed to be genuine. Roughly 22,000 fighters are reportedly identified by the documents, with one file for each recruit listing a name, address and other information.”
Included in those names are Samy Amimour, Foued Mohamed-Aggad, and Omar Ismail Mostefai, who are the three men that were responsible for the attack on the Bataclan during a concert by the band Eagles of Death Metal.
The documents have reportedly been obtained by WDR and NDR as well as the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, all German public broadcasters.
Thomas de Maiziere, Germany’s Interior Minister, stated that this information could assist in prosecuting the IS fighters and also help to prevent any further recruitment to the Islamic State militant group. The files, written in Arabic, were reportedly first published on a Qatari-based Syrian news website by Zaman Al-Wasl.
BBC states additional individuals, and their nation of origins, who also are listed in the IS files.
“Sixteen Britons reportedly appear in the files, including Junaid Hussain and Reyaad Khan, who were killed in September in Syria by an RAF drone strike. Two others listed, Kerim Marc B and Abdelkarim B, are currently on trial separately in Germany, while another two Germans on the list, Farid Saal Yassin Oussaiffi, have appeared in IS videos.”
The Dutch media also identified Abu Jihad al-Hollandi from the documents and noted that he is the Amsterdam teenager who died in a U.S. air strike while on the “Syrian IS stronghold of Raqqa in January 2015.” As the publication notes, the file reads, “Born 1997. Moroccan origin. Wants to be a fighter.”
The German counter-terrorism bureau is investigating and studying the documents. de Maziere relays that the bureau is acting based on the assumption that the documents are legitimate.
“The German Federal Bureau of Investigation acts on the assumption that the documents are authentic.”
The French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuvre stated, “We are extremely interested in information which would allow us to… neutralise terrorists, but such information has to be authenticated.”
As to how the files were leaked, Sky News shares that they apparently came from a former IS member who became “disillusioned” by the group’s ways and then stole a memory stick from the head of the internal security of the IS and then parted with it in Turkey. The man’s name is said to be Abu Hamed
Stefan Kornelius of one of the German broadcasting corporations insists that the source that gave the information was completely reliable. He also shares as to the motives of the informant.
“It gives some proof on the state of Isis [IS] right now, since many of those members and those being close to the terrorist group are trying to make money, quite honestly, because obviously the Isis is in a desperate financial state.”
[Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images]
