The Belgian national believed to be the mastermind behind the Paris attacks boasted months ago about how he evaded capture in the midst of planning a terrorist “plot.’
In a February interview with ISIS’s Dabiq magazine, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, recalled how he slipped into Belgium from Syria to “terrorize the crusaders waging war against the Muslims,” according to an English translation of the publication.
“As you know, Belgium is a member of the crusader coalition attacking the Muslims of Iraq and Sham,” he said.
After months of trying to enter Europe, Abaaoud and his accomplices made it to Belgium, where they obtained weapons and set up safe house “while we planned to carry out operations against the crusaders,” he said.
Abbaaoud, who doesn’t offer details about the plot, was already on authorities’ radar, and at one point, French and Belgian special forces units raided the safe house when he was away.
He was stopped by a police officer who had a photo of him — but still managed to thwart authorities.
“I was even stopped by an officer who contemplated me so as to compare me to the picture, but he let me go, as he did not see the resemblance! This was nothing but a gift from Allah,” he said.
Authorities continued their search for Abbaaoud, but ended up arresting people who weren’t connected to his plot, the terrorist told the magazine.
“All those arrested were not even connected to our plans!” he said, adding. “All this proves that a Muslim should not fear the bloated image of the crusader intelligence.”