The mastermind of the Paris attacks has been identified, but so far has remained elusive. Parisians tried to return to their normal lives on Monday but have found it difficult as the fear and uncertainty still hang in the air.
Intelligence agencies have identified the mastermind of the horrific attacks on Paris last Friday. The suspect is a Belgian citizen by the name of Abdelhamid Abaaoud. As Belgian police and intelligence operatives made arrests in the attacks, Abaaoud is thought to have escaped the dragnet and is now in Syria. Also, in an unprecedented move, the French government has order 115,000 police and soldiers to begin patrolling the country.
Abaaoud is suspected of being a high ranking commander in the Islamic State and extremely close to Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to CNN. Abaaoud is believed to have planned the Paris attacks as he had been a prominent figure and strategic planner in previous Islamic State attacks including a proposed attack scheduled for Belgium in January. The attack attempt was discovered by Belgian intelligence and thwarted.
Another elusive suspect, Salah Abdeslam, who authorities claim was instrumental in planning and carrying out the attacks, has also escaped capture. The 26-year-old French citizen may have even escaped from the country by now. French police and other security forces carried out 128 raids overnight throughout France.
President Francois Hollande had declared a three-day state of emergency throughout the country but is looking to extend it as well as to put into place sweeping new laws with regard to terrorism. Part of these new laws will be the deployment of 115,000 police and soldiers stationed all over the country. The French Interior Minister claimed that this massive deployment was for the protection of the people.
Both Abaaoud and the French suspect Abdeslam have a history in Belgium together especially in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels. Belgian police made some arrests in Molenbeek over the weekend but the two masterminds eluded capture. The two began their careers in Molenbeek, running with the street gangs. Belgian arrests were made after French intelligence told the Belgians that a car with Belgian plates had been parked outside of the nightclub where nearly 100 people were killed on Friday. Police suspect the vehicle was rented by Abdeslam.
Paris tried to return to normal on Monday as children returned to school and people went to work and tried to put their daily lives back together. Paris police have remarked that many citizens are coming up to them and asking if anything new is happening.
