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| French Train Attack Suspect Viewed Jihadist Video, Official Says | French Train Attack Suspect Viewed Jihadist Video, Official Says |
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| PARIS — In the moments before he loaded his gun to shoot up a train full of passengers, the suspect in Friday’s failed attack on the Amsterdam-Paris express, Ayoub El Khazzani, watched a YouTube video exhorting the faithful to commit violent acts in the name of radical Islam, the chief Paris prosecutor said Tuesday. | PARIS — In the moments before he loaded his gun to shoot up a train full of passengers, the suspect in Friday’s failed attack on the Amsterdam-Paris express, Ayoub El Khazzani, watched a YouTube video exhorting the faithful to commit violent acts in the name of radical Islam, the chief Paris prosecutor said Tuesday. |
| Announcing a formal investigation for attempted murder in connection with a terrorist act, the prosecutor, François Molins, outlined the trajectory of a young radical, making clear that his intent was maximum carnage in the name of extremism. His plan appears to have been “well-targeted, and premeditated,” Mr. Molins said. | Announcing a formal investigation for attempted murder in connection with a terrorist act, the prosecutor, François Molins, outlined the trajectory of a young radical, making clear that his intent was maximum carnage in the name of extremism. His plan appears to have been “well-targeted, and premeditated,” Mr. Molins said. |
| Mr. Khazzani, he said, attended a radical mosque in southern Spain, crisscrossed Europe and traveled to Turkey despite being unemployed, and finally boarded the Thalys high-speed train in Brussels on Friday afternoon with a sackful of ammunition and guns. His arsenal included nine clips of 30 bullets each, a handgun, an East German assault rifle and a box cutter, he said. | |
| At the beginning of his remarks to reporters at the Palais de Justice in Paris, Mr. Molins paid tribute to the two off-duty, unarmed American servicemen and their friend who sprang up to beat the suspect unconscious. If not for their intervention Mr. Khazzani could have wreaked havoc, the prosecutor said. | At the beginning of his remarks to reporters at the Palais de Justice in Paris, Mr. Molins paid tribute to the two off-duty, unarmed American servicemen and their friend who sprang up to beat the suspect unconscious. If not for their intervention Mr. Khazzani could have wreaked havoc, the prosecutor said. |
| He dismissed as “fantastical” the story Mr. Khazzani has been repeating to investigators since his arrest Friday night: that he found the weapons in a Brussels park and merely wanted to rob the passengers. | He dismissed as “fantastical” the story Mr. Khazzani has been repeating to investigators since his arrest Friday night: that he found the weapons in a Brussels park and merely wanted to rob the passengers. |
| The suspect arrived at the Palais de Justice on Tuesday afternoon, barefoot, blindfolded, and handcuffed, French media images showed. Mr. Molins said that Mr. Khazzani had “become more and more evasive” over four days and that on Monday he stopped talking altogether. “His story has changed a lot,” Mr. Molins told the reporters. | The suspect arrived at the Palais de Justice on Tuesday afternoon, barefoot, blindfolded, and handcuffed, French media images showed. Mr. Molins said that Mr. Khazzani had “become more and more evasive” over four days and that on Monday he stopped talking altogether. “His story has changed a lot,” Mr. Molins told the reporters. |
| Earlier on Tuesday, at the very beginning of his annual remarks to the French diplomatic corps at the Élysée Palace, President François Hollande recalled the narrowly averted massacre and spoke of the impact it has had on France. | Earlier on Tuesday, at the very beginning of his annual remarks to the French diplomatic corps at the Élysée Palace, President François Hollande recalled the narrowly averted massacre and spoke of the impact it has had on France. |
| “We are still vulnerable,” Mr. Hollande said. “The assault in the Amsterdam-Paris Thalys on Friday could have degenerated into carnage if it had not been for the courage of the passengers, and especially the American servicemen whom I honored yesterday. This is further evidence that we must prepare ourselves for more assaults, and thus we must protect ourselves.” | “We are still vulnerable,” Mr. Hollande said. “The assault in the Amsterdam-Paris Thalys on Friday could have degenerated into carnage if it had not been for the courage of the passengers, and especially the American servicemen whom I honored yesterday. This is further evidence that we must prepare ourselves for more assaults, and thus we must protect ourselves.” |
| The Belgian authorities carried out searches Monday night in an operation linked to the attack in the train, which was traveling to Paris from Amsterdam. No arrests were made. | The Belgian authorities carried out searches Monday night in an operation linked to the attack in the train, which was traveling to Paris from Amsterdam. No arrests were made. |
| The two searches took place in the Sint-Jans-Molenbeek district of Brussels, which was the focus of another terrorism investigation this year, and were part of a broader search for the possible residences of a person involved in the attack, the office of the Belgian Federal Public Prosecutor said in a statement on Tuesday. | The two searches took place in the Sint-Jans-Molenbeek district of Brussels, which was the focus of another terrorism investigation this year, and were part of a broader search for the possible residences of a person involved in the attack, the office of the Belgian Federal Public Prosecutor said in a statement on Tuesday. |
| “Nobody was deprived of his liberty or taken in to be interrogated,” the statement said. “Some objects were confiscated for further investigation.” | “Nobody was deprived of his liberty or taken in to be interrogated,” the statement said. “Some objects were confiscated for further investigation.” |
| The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, has called the attack an act of terrorism. His country is struggling to deal with homegrown Islamist radicals, and with criminal gangs and terrorist groups that have used Belgium as a distribution center for illegal arms. | The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, has called the attack an act of terrorism. His country is struggling to deal with homegrown Islamist radicals, and with criminal gangs and terrorist groups that have used Belgium as a distribution center for illegal arms. |
| Mr. Molins, the French prosecutor, shed new light on the background of the 25-year-old suspect, saying Mr. Khazzani had “assiduously” attended the Taqwa mosque in the Spanish city of Algeciras, where he lived. The mosque was “known for its radical preaching,” Mr. Molins said; Mr. Khazzani’s brother was the mosque treasurer. Mr. Khazzani has a Spanish residency card, the prosecutor said, which would have allowed him to travel across European borders virtually undetected. | Mr. Molins, the French prosecutor, shed new light on the background of the 25-year-old suspect, saying Mr. Khazzani had “assiduously” attended the Taqwa mosque in the Spanish city of Algeciras, where he lived. The mosque was “known for its radical preaching,” Mr. Molins said; Mr. Khazzani’s brother was the mosque treasurer. Mr. Khazzani has a Spanish residency card, the prosecutor said, which would have allowed him to travel across European borders virtually undetected. |
| Mr. Khazzani has been convicted and imprisoned several times in Spain, notably for narcotics trafficking, Mr. Molins said, and is the “target of several ongoing criminal prosecutions” in that country. He lived in a Paris suburb for a number of months in 2014, working for a mobile phone company; he then lived in Belgium, Germany and Austria. | Mr. Khazzani has been convicted and imprisoned several times in Spain, notably for narcotics trafficking, Mr. Molins said, and is the “target of several ongoing criminal prosecutions” in that country. He lived in a Paris suburb for a number of months in 2014, working for a mobile phone company; he then lived in Belgium, Germany and Austria. |
| In early 2014 Spanish authorities brought him to the attention of French intelligence because of his radical statements and his attendance at the Taqwa mosque; he was put on the French “S” list — increasingly contested here because it does not necessarily lead to an arrest, merely surveillance, should the person be stopped by the authorities for any reason, as Mr. Molins noted. Several suspects in previous attacks, including one recently at a chemical plant near Lyon, were also on that list. | In early 2014 Spanish authorities brought him to the attention of French intelligence because of his radical statements and his attendance at the Taqwa mosque; he was put on the French “S” list — increasingly contested here because it does not necessarily lead to an arrest, merely surveillance, should the person be stopped by the authorities for any reason, as Mr. Molins noted. Several suspects in previous attacks, including one recently at a chemical plant near Lyon, were also on that list. |
| The young man has denied going to Turkey, but it was his presence on the “S” list that signaled his place on a Berlin-Istanbul flight in May, Mr. Molins said. | The young man has denied going to Turkey, but it was his presence on the “S” list that signaled his place on a Berlin-Istanbul flight in May, Mr. Molins said. |
| The prosecutor’s account of the attack on the train underscored how narrowly a disaster had been averted. At 5:35 p.m. on Friday, Mr. Khazzani emerged from a toilet between cars 12 and 13, shirtless, wearing a backpack and with a rifle slung on his chest. | The prosecutor’s account of the attack on the train underscored how narrowly a disaster had been averted. At 5:35 p.m. on Friday, Mr. Khazzani emerged from a toilet between cars 12 and 13, shirtless, wearing a backpack and with a rifle slung on his chest. |
| A passenger, waiting to use the toilets, grabbed him and pushed the slightly built young man against the baggage racks, Mr. Molins said. A conductor stumbled upon the scene as Mr. Khazzani freed himself and fired off several shots. | A passenger, waiting to use the toilets, grabbed him and pushed the slightly built young man against the baggage racks, Mr. Molins said. A conductor stumbled upon the scene as Mr. Khazzani freed himself and fired off several shots. |
| It was at that point that the Americans got involved, the prosecutor said, “putting him on the ground.” One of them, Airman Spencer Stone, “in spite of being wounded” by Mr. Khazzani’s box cutter, went to the aid of another passenger wounded by a shot, Mark Moogalian, a French-American, stopping his bleeding. He remains hospitalized. | It was at that point that the Americans got involved, the prosecutor said, “putting him on the ground.” One of them, Airman Spencer Stone, “in spite of being wounded” by Mr. Khazzani’s box cutter, went to the aid of another passenger wounded by a shot, Mark Moogalian, a French-American, stopping his bleeding. He remains hospitalized. |