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Paris Terror Attack Mastermind Outwitted Bumbling Belgian Secret Service

© AP Photo / Militant PhotoThis undated image made available in the Islamic State's English-language magazine Dabiq, shows Abdelhamid Abaaoud
This undated image made available in the Islamic State's English-language magazine Dabiq, shows Abdelhamid Abaaoud - Sputnik International
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The suspected mastermind of the Paris terrorist attacks managed to escape Belgian special services after a botched terrorist act in Belgium, according to the Moroccan news website Alyaoum24.

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Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the bloody terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, escaped Belgian special services following a failed terrorist act, the Moroccan news website Alyaoum24 reported.

Belgian authorities suspect Abaaoud of helping organize and finance a terror cell in the eastern Belgian city of Verviers that was broken up in an armed police raid on January 15, in which two of his presumed accomplices were killed.

© REUTERS / Gonazlo FuentesCrowds leave the Stade de France where explosions were reported to have detonated outside the stadium during the France vs German friendly match near Paris, November 13, 2015
Crowds leave the Stade de France where explosions were reported to have detonated outside the stadium during the France vs German friendly match near Paris, November 13, 2015 - Sputnik International
Crowds leave the Stade de France where explosions were reported to have detonated outside the stadium during the France vs German friendly match near Paris, November 13, 2015

Alyaoum24 referred to February's interview by Abaaoud with a magazine owned by the Islamic State, where he boasted about returning to Syria after an unsuccessful attempt to stage a terrorist act in Belgium. 

He specifically pointed to the Belgian special services' failure to arrest him despite the fact that a Belgian policeman detained him for a while, but then released because he failed to identify his photo.

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According to media reports, the Belgian investigators believe that Abaaoud could have been responsible for organizing the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13.

He is thought to be linked to at least one suicide bomber, Ibrahim Abdeslam, who blew himself up in the French capital on Friday night — Ibrahim Abdeslam. Notably, the two men's names were reportedly mentioned in the same criminal reports from to 2010 and 2011.

On Friday night, eight extremists wearing explosive belts attacked several venues across Paris, killing 132 people at restaurants, the Bataclan concert hall and in the vicinity of the Stade de France stadium.

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