0:00:03 > 0:00:06Brussels is the latest European city to be bombed.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12It's the work of the so-called Islamic State, IS.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20The attacks came just days after this -
0:00:20 > 0:00:23the arrest of Salah Abdeslam,
0:00:23 > 0:00:27a leading member of the IS cell that attacked Paris last November.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32GUNSHOTS
0:00:32 > 0:00:34A Panorama team has been investigating
0:00:34 > 0:00:39how IS plans and executes attacks in Europe.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40We have seen secret files
0:00:40 > 0:00:44that reveal how the terror group trains attackers in Syria.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46He gave me some shooting lessons,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50he said, "Imagine a rock concert in a European country.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53"If we arm you, would you be ready to shoot in the crowd?"
0:00:53 > 0:00:56And we've learned how IS supplies weapons to
0:00:56 > 0:00:58its operatives here on the ground in Europe.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00I opened the car,
0:01:00 > 0:01:04there were three Kalashnikovs, four magazines.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08We have seen intelligence that
0:01:08 > 0:01:11reveals a secret race between IS and
0:01:11 > 0:01:14the West's security agencies trying to stop attacks.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19- TRANSLATION:- They want to destroy our model of society,
0:01:19 > 0:01:20so this is really a war.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Over the past year, Western intelligence agencies
0:01:36 > 0:01:38have been trying to get information about
0:01:38 > 0:01:41the Islamic State's plans to attack us.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44They have foiled a number of plots and captured
0:01:44 > 0:01:46the IS fighters involved.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51We have seen secret intelligence transcripts of their interrogations.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53One of these fighters gave the DGSI -
0:01:53 > 0:01:56that's France's equivalent of MI5 -
0:01:56 > 0:01:59details about the department inside IS
0:01:59 > 0:02:02running its European terror campaign.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It's called Amni, meaning security.
0:02:09 > 0:02:111,500 people work for Amni.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13I don't know how recruitment is done.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15You have to be trustworthy to join.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22Its role is to detect spies in Iraq and Syria.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25That's its only internal role.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Its external role is to send people all over
0:02:30 > 0:02:31the world to commit violent attacks.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36And Europe was one of IS's prime targets.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Foreign fighters were hand-picked
0:02:39 > 0:02:42to return and attack their homeland.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Each spy gets 50,000 euros from Amni to mount an attack in Europe.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Next, he provided a crucial piece of information
0:02:51 > 0:02:55for the intelligence agencies about the commander of the attacks.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58It is Abu Omar who keeps an eye on the files.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Abu Omar is only a pseudonym. His real name is
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the man responsible
0:03:09 > 0:03:11for the attacks on Paris.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25At the EU's crime and terrorism agency, Europol, officers have been
0:03:25 > 0:03:30monitoring how IS has been organising itself to attack Europe.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34You referred to the so-called Islamic State's
0:03:34 > 0:03:39external-action command. What is the external-action command?
0:03:39 > 0:03:42We think what's happened is that a new external-command force
0:03:42 > 0:03:47has been set up within IS to transport terror
0:03:47 > 0:03:50onto the streets of Europe, using special-forces-style tactics
0:03:50 > 0:03:53with indiscriminate shootings, AK-47s,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56wearing suicide belts, in a way we've never seen in Europe before.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Such a military-style assault would mark a worrying
0:04:01 > 0:04:06and unprecedented advance in IS's tactics, led by Abaaoud.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11From secret intelligence, we've gathered crucial evidence
0:04:11 > 0:04:14that Abaaoud was at the very heart
0:04:14 > 0:04:18of IS's new strategy to target Europe.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21He was to spend most of 2015
0:04:21 > 0:04:24plotting a series of attacks that were to culminate in
0:04:24 > 0:04:27the slaughter here on the streets of Paris.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37So who is Abdelhamid Abaaoud?
0:04:37 > 0:04:41He was brought up in the Brussels district of Molenbeek.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44He had a history of petty crime and spent time in prison,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46where it's believed he was radicalised.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49His family tell their solicitor
0:04:49 > 0:04:54that they'd seen a dramatic change when he was released in 2012.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Abaaoud was highly critical of how his father was raising
0:04:57 > 0:05:00the other children.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05The father realised that his son was changing a lot,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08saying that he was not giving
0:05:08 > 0:05:11to the other children of the family a good
0:05:11 > 0:05:13education, not a Muslim one.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18That he was a bad example for the small kids.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26In March 2013,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Abaaoud first travelled to Syria to fight the Assad regime.
0:05:33 > 0:05:34At one point, he returned
0:05:34 > 0:05:38home to Molenbeek to kidnap his 13-year-old brother, Younes.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43He later taunted his father on the phone.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47The father, he received a phone call saying,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49"Don't search for Younes,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53"you will not see him back any more in your whole life.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58"I will learn him the real value of the Muslim religion.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00"He is going with me to Syria."
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Abaaoud's younger brother was, at the time,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09believed to be IS's youngest jihadi.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17HE SPEAKS ARABIC
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Abaaoud later became notorious for his brutality when he was
0:06:22 > 0:06:25seen in this IS video dragging corpses,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28some beheaded, behind a 4X4.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30Allahu Akbar.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34All the men in this video came from Belgium.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53If you want to understand how IS operates in Europe, you have to
0:06:53 > 0:06:57understand why Belgium became so important.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00It was a country Abaaoud would use repeatedly
0:07:00 > 0:07:01as a base for operations.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05One reason is the number of
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Belgian jihadis who've ended up fighting in Syria.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Belgium has sent more per head than anywhere else in Europe.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20Some former members of this boxing club drifted into extremism.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22HE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Here they try and fight radicalisation and they
0:07:27 > 0:07:30understand why young men consider going to Syria.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35High unemployment and feelings of discrimination are big factors.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41Radicalisation doesn't start with a religious idea.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43They're going because they're leaving something,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45they're fed up with the society here.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Some here have even known people who have become suicide bombers.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54HE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- TRANSLATION:- One day I watched the news.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00I heard that some young guy had blown himself up.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03I went on the internet and when I saw his face I was upset.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Many from Molenbeek who became jihadis were actively recruited.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22One radicaliser stands out -
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Khalid Zerkani.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26HE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- TRANSLATION:- I believe that Khalid Zerkani was the biggest
0:08:29 > 0:08:30recruiter Brussels has ever seen.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Journalist Philippe Engels has investigated how Zerkani operated.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38HE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- TRANSLATION: - He was the co-ordinator.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44The organiser of a real jihadist network with Mafia undertones.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47It was like a machine sending young people to Syria.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Abaaoud was a petty criminal here in Molenbeek
0:08:56 > 0:08:57and was involved with Zerkani.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Like Abaaoud, many of those sent to fight in Syria
0:09:03 > 0:09:05by Zerkani were criminals.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10We have seen intelligence that reveals how Zerkani worked.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14He wouldn't just preach to would-be fighters, he doled out
0:09:14 > 0:09:16money to assist in their travels and he put them
0:09:16 > 0:09:18in touch with smugglers.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21People like Zerkani were key in establishing
0:09:21 > 0:09:25the Belgian presence in Syria that IS would exploit.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27SHE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:09:27 > 0:09:30- TRANSLATION:- That's a photo of my son when he was six years old.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33One of those Zerkani sent was Yoni Mayne.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37He travelled to Syria along with
0:09:37 > 0:09:38the two Abaaoud brothers.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45His mother believed Zerkani pressured him into going.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49- TRANSLATION:- The phone kept ringing, even when he was asleep,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51to harass him, you understand.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53I heard, "Inshallah, inshallah, I'm going to leave."
0:09:56 > 0:10:00She says Zerkani was responsible for a dramatic change in her son.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07- TRANSLATION:- He would wear robes only, like a Saudi.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10At home, it was the Koran only.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14The name of Allah, Allah, Allah, Allah until he went to sleep.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15That's the way it was.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20HE SPEAKS ARABIC
0:10:20 > 0:10:22This video reveals where Yoni Mayne ended up
0:10:22 > 0:10:26after travelling to Syria with Abaaoud to join IS.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Yoni Mayne was dead soon after.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Abaaoud was about to take on a new role in IS.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47IS's expansion in Iraq triggered
0:10:47 > 0:10:51an American-led coalition to launch air strikes against them.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59It's about taking out an entire network,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01decimating and discrediting
0:11:01 > 0:11:03a militant cult masquerading
0:11:03 > 0:11:06as a religious movement.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12IS beheaded American journalist James Foley in Syria.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Around this time, IS made plans to strike Europe
0:11:21 > 0:11:25and Abaaoud was preparing a cell which would involve sending
0:11:25 > 0:11:27jihadis back from Syria to attack.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31It was two men who'd come from Molenbeek that Abaaoud
0:11:31 > 0:11:33chose to be his first recruits -
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Sofiane Amghar and Khalid Ben Larbi.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40The IS network was under way.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Amghar and Ben Larbi were sent on a mission
0:11:53 > 0:11:56to set up a terror cell here in Verviers, Belgium.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02We've established that Ben Larbi passed through
0:12:02 > 0:12:04the UK on his way to Belgium.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08We understand that he got into the UK illegally
0:12:08 > 0:12:11using a passport belonging to a Dutch IS fighter.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15One of the two persons came
0:12:15 > 0:12:19first to the UK, then through France to Verviers.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22The problem is that they are able to come with false paper
0:12:22 > 0:12:25and that nobody is able to detect them.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32It seems that he was never stopped or questioned
0:12:32 > 0:12:35at St Pancras station as he left the UK.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42We have seen secret intelligence that reveals
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Abaaoud personally monitored their arrival in Verviers.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48He contacted his brother Yassine,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50who was in jail in Belgium, and said...
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Abaaoud's cell laid up in this
0:13:09 > 0:13:11unremarkable back street in Verviers.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Part of terrorist tradecraft is to choose
0:13:15 > 0:13:19a safe house like this to remain as anonymous as possible.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23When you choose a house in a very populated area,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26with people living next to you,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30above you, beneath you, people passing by all
0:13:30 > 0:13:34the time, makes it very, very difficult to raid a house.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37It's what they were allegedly planning to do
0:13:37 > 0:13:40that would have sent shock waves around the world.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44The mission that these guys had, that was to take police officers
0:13:44 > 0:13:46from the street, to bring them in
0:13:46 > 0:13:51- the house and behead them before the webcam.- Behead them?
0:13:51 > 0:13:52Yeah, behead them...
0:13:52 > 0:13:56before the webcam and to send this action all over the world.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Abaaoud's plan seemed to be on track but
0:14:02 > 0:14:04a tip-off led the security services to start
0:14:04 > 0:14:06monitoring the safe house.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09They had intercepted calls from Athens.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13There were contacts between people in the house and
0:14:13 > 0:14:17somebody in Greece and, at a certain time,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21we learned that person was Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24That would be because you were intercepting
0:14:24 > 0:14:27telephone calls between the cell and Greece?
0:14:28 > 0:14:30That's a logical supposition, yes.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36We've seen Belgian intelligence documents that leave
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Abaaoud's involvement beyond doubt.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43The documents say that Abaaoud was organising
0:14:43 > 0:14:45the structure, providing instructions on which
0:14:45 > 0:14:48documents to use - presumably false documents -
0:14:48 > 0:14:50and which cars to steal.
0:14:50 > 0:14:51And he was doing all this
0:14:51 > 0:14:54from Greece, using at least five different
0:14:54 > 0:14:57mobile numbers. What he didn't know is that
0:14:57 > 0:15:00the intelligence services were listening in.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06The Belgians had planted a secret listening device
0:15:06 > 0:15:07in the house in Verviers.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11GUNSHOTS
0:15:13 > 0:15:16As they monitored the cell, the world was gripped by
0:15:16 > 0:15:20dramatic events at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
0:15:20 > 0:15:2212 people were murdered by jihadi gunmen
0:15:22 > 0:15:26from al-Qaeda, including eight journalists
0:15:26 > 0:15:27and two police officers...
0:15:28 > 0:15:32..whilst a third gunman, claiming allegiance to IS,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34shot dead a policewoman before killing a further
0:15:34 > 0:15:37four people in a Jewish supermarket.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Fearing the cell in Verviers was about to launch
0:15:43 > 0:15:48a similar attack, a week later the Belgians decided to act.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52GUNSHOTS
0:15:56 > 0:15:57As the gun battle raged,
0:15:57 > 0:16:01the listening device picked up the jihadis' final words,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03a prayer before they died.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15GUNSHOT
0:16:30 > 0:16:35French special forces, the GIGN, the equivalent of the British SAS,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39had been drafted in to assist in the operation.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41HE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- TRANSLATION:- Generally, when we intervene with explosives,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48the enemy inside tends to calm down
0:16:48 > 0:16:51immediately, so it's quite easy to stop him.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Not in this case. Here, we faced resistance to the very end.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01Two of Abaaoud's team
0:17:01 > 0:17:04were shot dead in the fierce firefight.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06A third man tried to escape through a window
0:17:06 > 0:17:08at the back but was caught.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16The first IS cell in Europe had been neutralised,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18but what about their commander?
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Abaaoud was 1,600 miles away in Athens.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29We understand from intelligence
0:17:29 > 0:17:31that the CIA and Israel's Mossad
0:17:31 > 0:17:34helped track and locate Abaaoud in Greece.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39There was now a rare chance to catch and stop him.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43It's believed the CIA planned to intercept Abaaoud
0:17:43 > 0:17:44but the plan failed.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Abaaoud, whose DNA was found
0:17:48 > 0:17:51in this apartment, was one step ahead
0:17:51 > 0:17:52and escaped to Syria.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07Weeks later, Abaaoud resurfaced in the IS magazine, Dabiq,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11bragging about plotting terrorist attacks under the noses
0:18:11 > 0:18:13of the West's intelligence agencies.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Intelligence services knew that Abaaoud would learn
0:18:29 > 0:18:33lessons from Verviers, and now, back in Syria,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35would pass them on to IS.
0:18:36 > 0:18:42IS has what I would call an army of radicalised people
0:18:42 > 0:18:47who have learned to handle arms and explosives,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50people who have participated in violence,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53who have been indoctrinated to do
0:18:53 > 0:18:56the worst, and who are willing to do so.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03With Abaaoud now back in Syria rebuilding his network,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05intelligence reports indicate that
0:19:05 > 0:19:102015 developed into a race, a race between
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Abaaoud and Western intelligence agencies
0:19:13 > 0:19:16who were desperately trying to find him and stop him.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23In its war against Europe, IS, as well as
0:19:23 > 0:19:25preparing cells of trained killers,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28developed another strategy - to inspire
0:19:28 > 0:19:31individuals who had never been to Syria
0:19:31 > 0:19:33to carry out attacks in their own countries.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39And that's how IS has operated so far in the UK.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45This IS online propaganda glorifies
0:19:45 > 0:19:49the actions of so-called lone wolves who operate
0:19:49 > 0:19:51without the support of IS networks.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Where I got hold of it from was from IS members,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07- from their Twitter accounts.- Right.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10This journalist contacted IS over the internet,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14pretending to be willing to launch a suicide-bomb attack
0:20:14 > 0:20:18in the UK. He asked us to protect his identity.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20He established a relationship with
0:20:20 > 0:20:23a high-ranking British recruiter operating from
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Syria called Junaid Hussain.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Junaid was very straight-to-business, he wasn't
0:20:30 > 0:20:32very friendly. I got the idea
0:20:32 > 0:20:35that he wanted to catch hold of someone quickly,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38and I just said to him, "I want to do the will of Allah,"
0:20:38 > 0:20:40and from there he said,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42"You should do something over there."
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Did he mention a target?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47He mentioned a target, it was the Armed Forces Day,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Lee Rigby parade in Woolwich.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52That was on June 27th, 2015.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00He told me to go into the middle
0:21:00 > 0:21:02of the crowd and just press the button,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04and from there I would go straight to Jannah.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- Paradise.- Paradise, yeah.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14The journalist was also sent a series of DIY terror manuals
0:21:14 > 0:21:15over the internet.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22One of them contained the instructions
0:21:22 > 0:21:24on how to make the type of device
0:21:24 > 0:21:26that was detonated at the Boston Marathon.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33The first impression I got off it was how easy
0:21:33 > 0:21:35it looked to build, because all the items
0:21:35 > 0:21:38that are described that you've got to get hold of,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40you can just pick them up from any local shop.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Once he received the manuals, he told the police.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52But last year, one of Junaid Hussain's real Twitter followers
0:21:52 > 0:21:55was planning an actual bomb attack in London.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Mohammed Rehman and his wife, Sana Khan,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00used similar instructions to build a bomb.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Rehman even filmed this test in his back garden.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16They planned to mark the tenth anniversary
0:22:16 > 0:22:18of the London 7/7 bombings of 2005
0:22:18 > 0:22:20with their own suicide attack.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27What do you think would have happened had they not been arrested?
0:22:27 > 0:22:29I seriously think that Mohammed would have
0:22:29 > 0:22:32set off a bomb in London,
0:22:32 > 0:22:36a suicide bomb, and there would have been another
0:22:36 > 0:22:387/7 in the UK.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Mohammed Rehman was sentenced to 27 years
0:22:46 > 0:22:48and Sana Khan to 25.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54Stopping this plot was the result of good intelligence by
0:22:54 > 0:22:55UK undercover police officers.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10On mainland Europe, intelligence services faced a more complex
0:23:10 > 0:23:13problem - heavily armed lone operatives
0:23:13 > 0:23:15controlled remotely by IS.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21A plot to strike in Paris was foiled, but just how it
0:23:21 > 0:23:23was uncovered is an extraordinary story.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27We have seen secret intelligence which
0:23:27 > 0:23:29includes the interrogation of
0:23:29 > 0:23:33the captured IS operative who was involved.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35He reveals how he botched the mission.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I placed the gun at the height of my thigh,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43point-blank, and I shot.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45I thought to myself,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47"If I call the police, they might actually shoot me,"
0:23:47 > 0:23:49so that's why I called the ambulance instead.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52And they immediately put me in touch with the police.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Officers followed the trail of blood to his car and there they
0:23:57 > 0:24:00discovered a huge arsenal of weapons.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03They had uncovered an IS operative.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09It was on a trip to his native Algeria that Sid Ghlam
0:24:09 > 0:24:12says he first came into contact with IS supporters.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18He then travelled to Turkey, wanting to go to Syria,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20but IS commanders there had other plans for him.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27They said I needed to go back to France because
0:24:27 > 0:24:29my help there was needed.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35IS had a tactic for controlling him remotely.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40They showed me how to stay in touch with them via the internet
0:24:40 > 0:24:42using encrypted messages.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Before he left for France,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49IS gave Ghlam a crucial piece of information.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57It was so sensitive, he wasn't allowed to write it down.
0:24:57 > 0:24:58It was a location in Paris.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Then they showed me the map of a car park
0:25:03 > 0:25:07in Aulnay-sous-Bois, and they said I needed to memorise that place.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14A few weeks later when Ghlam was back in Paris,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16he received an instruction from IS to
0:25:16 > 0:25:17go to the car park.
0:25:19 > 0:25:24They said, "There will be a car and you will need to find some keys
0:25:24 > 0:25:27"on top of one of the car wheels," so I drove
0:25:27 > 0:25:30there, I opened the car.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33There were two bags, so I took them.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37During his interrogation, he tells the police
0:25:37 > 0:25:41exactly what he found in the bags.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Three Kalashnikovs, some
0:25:43 > 0:25:48bulletproof vests, I think three of them, four magazines,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50some police vests,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54walkie-talkie stations, tactical vests.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57IS had developed
0:25:57 > 0:25:59a sophisticated network. Lone operatives could
0:25:59 > 0:26:03be dropped into a target area and a supporting team would
0:26:03 > 0:26:05then supply them with guns and ammunition.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08This made it harder to uncover the network.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Aimen Dean is a former member of
0:26:12 > 0:26:15al-Qaeda who became a spy for British intelligence.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20He understands the importance of a separate logistics team.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24In the past, a lone wolf, by definition, is someone who is
0:26:24 > 0:26:29expected to select a target, make the reconnaissance, secure
0:26:29 > 0:26:32the materials and the weapons and then execute the attack.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35However, Isis decided that this is not right.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38As far as the logistics are concerned, someone else will do it.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Armed to the teeth, Sid Ghlam says
0:26:42 > 0:26:46he was instructed by IS to select a target for mass murder.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51They told me to look for a good church.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55I chose the one they told me to have a look at
0:26:55 > 0:26:56in one of their messages.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02And this was his target.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08What would have happened that Sunday if the attack had been successful?
0:27:08 > 0:27:11- TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:- It would have been a bloodbath
0:27:11 > 0:27:13before police could even intervene.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21But on the morning of the attack, the plan went wrong.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Police believe he tried to steal a car, but
0:27:24 > 0:27:27during the carjacking the driver was shot dead.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Shortly afterwards, Ghlam shot himself.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36If it was their intention to launch
0:27:36 > 0:27:38a major strike in Europe, it seems IS
0:27:38 > 0:27:42chose the wrong man. Whether Ghlam was too reluctant,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46too nervous or too incompetent, on this occasion
0:27:46 > 0:27:47they had failed.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55When a French national arrived
0:27:55 > 0:27:58in Syria to join IS in June 2015,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Abaaoud spotted another opportunity.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05The man had a French passport but it was due to expire.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10If Abaaoud could train him quickly, he could send
0:28:10 > 0:28:12him back to Europe to launch a fresh attack.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19But Abaaoud's plan was foiled when the French intercepted
0:28:19 > 0:28:22the IS fighter before he could strike.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25We've seen a transcript of his interrogation
0:28:25 > 0:28:27in which he describes being
0:28:27 > 0:28:29personally trained to kill by Abaaoud.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39He gave me some shooting lessons by showing me how
0:28:39 > 0:28:40to handle the Kalashnikov.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43He made me shoot round by round and in bursts.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47Abaaoud honed his recruit's new skills, training him
0:28:47 > 0:28:50for all-out assaults with explosives.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52He trained me to use a handgun
0:28:52 > 0:28:54and a green Russian stun grenade.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57He told me it was set on three seconds.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00He drew silhouettes in the house. He told me to take the weapon,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02throw the grenade inside,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06wait for a small explosion and enter and shoot the targets.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10I threw the grenade in the house. I heard a small explosion.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14I went in, shot three targets, and then the grenade exploded.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17I was bleeding from the arm and the leg.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21Abaaoud detailed the kind of mass-casualty attack
0:29:21 > 0:29:25he wanted Hame to carry out. It was a sobering indication
0:29:25 > 0:29:30of the kind of target IS would select in Paris.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32He just told me to choose an easy target.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Imagine a rock concert in a European country.
0:29:36 > 0:29:37He specified the best thing
0:29:37 > 0:29:40to do was to wait there for the intervention forces
0:29:40 > 0:29:43and die fighting with hostages.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45He told me, "Whoever rushes against the enemy
0:29:45 > 0:29:47"will have the reward of two martyrs."
0:29:48 > 0:29:50The intelligence reveals that
0:29:50 > 0:29:54although Reda Hame was supposed to be a lone attacker,
0:29:54 > 0:29:55he was to be provided with
0:29:55 > 0:29:58the weapons by an IS logistics team.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02He said it wasn't a problem to find weapons and equipment.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05I would just have to ask what I needed.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08In my opinion, they have networks.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15The arrest and interrogation of Reda Hame
0:30:15 > 0:30:17should have been a cause for celebration,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21a potential massacre at a rock concert averted.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24But what he then went on to say was a chilling prediction
0:30:24 > 0:30:27three months before the Paris attacks.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31All I can say is that this will happen very soon.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Over there it's like a real factory,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37they're really trying to strike France or Europe.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39Given the determination of the people I've met,
0:30:39 > 0:30:41this wouldn't come as a surprise
0:30:41 > 0:30:43to me if there was some action soon.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50The authorities knew an attack could come anywhere,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52any time, driven by the commitment
0:30:52 > 0:30:54of Abaaoud and his fighters.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59- TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:- We are dealing with religious fanaticism,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03with people who are determined, who know what they have to do,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07who choose the time, the place, the objective, how to do it
0:31:07 > 0:31:09and when to do it.
0:31:16 > 0:31:21In summer 2015, Western intelligence agencies
0:31:21 > 0:31:22were on high alert.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27The race to find and stop Abaaoud was intensifying.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32We understand the CIA
0:31:32 > 0:31:35warned that one of Abaaoud's network was trying to
0:31:35 > 0:31:37get hold of European ID cards.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42And the intelligence warnings continued,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45with one source reporting that Abaaoud was now IS's
0:31:45 > 0:31:47minister for war.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53We now also understand that
0:31:53 > 0:31:56the CIA issued a warning that Abaaoud was
0:31:56 > 0:31:59in contact with Turkish smugglers about getting
0:31:59 > 0:32:00fighters into Europe.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09During our investigation, we heard rumours that one of
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Abaaoud's key lieutenants, Mohamed Abrini,
0:32:12 > 0:32:14visited the UK last summer.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20Was one of those members of Abaaoud's network who
0:32:20 > 0:32:23went to the UK Mohamed Abrini?
0:32:23 > 0:32:26- Yes.- Is it known what he did in the UK?
0:32:26 > 0:32:28SHE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:32:28 > 0:32:30- TRANSLATION:- No, I don't know.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33That is the secret of the intelligence services.
0:32:33 > 0:32:38We understand that one member of the network,
0:32:38 > 0:32:43Abrini, went to the UK, came back to Europe,
0:32:43 > 0:32:45came back to Belgium or France,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49and was stopped, and on his phone were pictures of
0:32:49 > 0:32:52what could have been possible targets in the UK.
0:32:52 > 0:32:53Is that correct?
0:32:53 > 0:32:58We still have to establish what he did in the UK.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01So I cannot give any comment about that.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03Were there photographs on Abrini's phone
0:33:03 > 0:33:06that identified possible targets like
0:33:06 > 0:33:10- a football stadium? - It's a piece of the judicial file,
0:33:10 > 0:33:12I cannot give any comment.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15You don't know what Abrini was doing in the UK?
0:33:16 > 0:33:18We are working on it.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24We know that Abrini visited Birmingham
0:33:24 > 0:33:26and we understand that a photograph
0:33:26 > 0:33:30of a football stadium was found on his mobile phone.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35And there were even more disturbing
0:33:35 > 0:33:37intelligence reports that Abaaoud wanted to
0:33:37 > 0:33:42send 60 IS fighters to attack Belgium, France,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Germany and the UK,
0:33:44 > 0:33:47all partners in the coalition against IS.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52In October, MI6 and MI5 met
0:33:52 > 0:33:55with a partner agency to discuss Abaaoud
0:33:55 > 0:33:59and the threat posed by such a potential onslaught.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Other agencies were also discussing setting up
0:34:02 > 0:34:04a specialist team to target Abaaoud.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08A meeting in Paris was planned to finalise
0:34:08 > 0:34:10the details.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Originally on the 13th of November 2015,
0:34:14 > 0:34:15the date was ominous.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18It was the date of the Paris attacks.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20By then, it was too late.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29This is one member of Abaaoud's next terror cell training in Syria
0:34:29 > 0:34:32to attack Paris. It includes French,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Belgians and Iraqis.
0:34:39 > 0:34:40This IS propaganda video
0:34:40 > 0:34:43features some of them beheading people.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48It's a tactic that this former al-Qaeda member understands.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50What was the purpose in making
0:34:50 > 0:34:54the attackers carry out such brutal actions?
0:34:54 > 0:34:58The brutality exhibited shows all the signs of it being a test of
0:34:58 > 0:35:01loyalty, so basically if they show any hesitation
0:35:01 > 0:35:04also they would be excluded from the attack and the operation.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11The most recent attempts to attack Europe had failed,
0:35:11 > 0:35:13but now IS were learning from their mistakes.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15The network Abaaoud built
0:35:15 > 0:35:19would evade all attempts by the authorities to detect them.
0:35:21 > 0:35:22This strategy can be seen
0:35:22 > 0:35:25in the support network he built.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29His chief lieutenant was a petty criminal from Molenbeek,
0:35:29 > 0:35:34Salah Abdeslam. He committed crime alongside Abaaoud and he had a big
0:35:34 > 0:35:37advantage - although on a Belgian watchlist,
0:35:37 > 0:35:39he was in the lowest possible category.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44We have seen notes from a police interview with
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Salah early last year about his friendship with Abaaoud.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49He admits they had been friends for years but said they
0:35:49 > 0:35:53had never spoken about jihad. He is not questioned again.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Here in Molenbeek, Salah Abdeslam
0:35:57 > 0:36:00seemed just another small-time criminal.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04SHE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:36:04 > 0:36:06- TRANSLATION: - Every day we get reports
0:36:06 > 0:36:09about arrests, about drug problems, gun problems,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13false papers, illegal trade. And Abdeslam
0:36:13 > 0:36:15was known more as a small delinquent or
0:36:15 > 0:36:17a petty criminal than being a radical.
0:36:21 > 0:36:26Salah Abdeslam's brother Brahim was also a petty criminal.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28He is seen here being arrested for a robbery.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32He also became a member of the terror cell,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35helping with logistics planning for the Paris attacks.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41We have seen a lot of jihadist groups operating in Europe
0:36:41 > 0:36:44having criminal links, because many of them, in many
0:36:44 > 0:36:47cases they have, as it were, graduated
0:36:47 > 0:36:53from petty street crime to something more serious.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Often as a result of stays in prison.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Considered low-risk petty criminals,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04the Abdeslam brothers were able to set about getting
0:37:04 > 0:37:06what the terror cell needed.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13Since they're not on the authorities' radar, they're able to
0:37:13 > 0:37:16drive around, they're able basically to make
0:37:16 > 0:37:19purchases, transport goods without being
0:37:19 > 0:37:21noticed by the authorities.
0:37:21 > 0:37:27And I think this is where the genius of IS's planning process is.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32We have been told that it was criminal contacts
0:37:32 > 0:37:34here in Belgium that supplied the weapons
0:37:34 > 0:37:35for the Paris cell.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41What you tend to find is when you look at these cases that
0:37:41 > 0:37:44the criminals are simply engaging in
0:37:44 > 0:37:47entrepreneurial activity, the weapons
0:37:47 > 0:37:49are being bought. In many cases it suits them to
0:37:49 > 0:37:51know as little as possible.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54All they're interested in is the criminal transaction.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59But it wasn't just the logistics team that
0:37:59 > 0:38:01were able to outsmart the authorities.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03Abaaoud and the rest of the attack team
0:38:03 > 0:38:07were able to make their way back from Syria without detection.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15Bilal Hadfi would also become one of Abaaoud's cell for Paris.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Belgian police were told
0:38:18 > 0:38:20he was planning to return from Syria.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24They monitored locations where they thought he might turn up.
0:38:29 > 0:38:30Despite the fact that so many
0:38:30 > 0:38:33people were involved, information about
0:38:33 > 0:38:35the planned attacks didn't leak out.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41I would suspect that they were pretty communication-secure aware
0:38:41 > 0:38:45and it does seem that the members of this
0:38:45 > 0:38:47group must have been very surveillance aware
0:38:47 > 0:38:51because they were, in some cases, on watchlists.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55It's a kind of mind-set that,
0:38:55 > 0:39:00as it were, understands what it is to be a hunted individual.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Despite having to keep low profiles,
0:39:05 > 0:39:09Abaaoud's support network, led by Salah, managed to buy weapons,
0:39:09 > 0:39:11explosives and detonators.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19They also rented a hotel room and this safe house in Paris.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28By the evening of the 12th of November, Abaaoud and
0:39:28 > 0:39:31his men were in Paris ready to strike.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44Using French intelligence documents, we have pieced
0:39:44 > 0:39:47together how Abaaoud planned simultaneous
0:39:47 > 0:39:48attacks at multiple sites.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59This was his first target - the Stade de France.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04Among spectators at the game between France and Germany
0:40:04 > 0:40:07was the French president, Francois Hollande.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12According to the investigation,
0:40:12 > 0:40:15the gate closed at 9.10, a few minutes after kick-off.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19A witness says that he saw one individual
0:40:19 > 0:40:22trying to bluff his way in here
0:40:22 > 0:40:25at Gate R but the security guard was suspicious
0:40:25 > 0:40:27and wouldn't let him in.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29The obvious intention was to get inside
0:40:29 > 0:40:31the Stade de France and detonate.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36They were unlucky they didn't get into the stadium
0:40:36 > 0:40:38but they regrouped. They had a Plan B.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42Having failed to get inside the stadium,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45they then each moved to new positions.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47Intelligence indicates that the bombers
0:40:47 > 0:40:51were communicating with a mobile number in Belgium.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53At exactly 9.17,
0:40:53 > 0:40:57Abaaoud's first suicide bomber detonated his device...
0:40:59 > 0:41:02..killing himself and a civilian.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07After the first explosion, the second attacker waited
0:41:07 > 0:41:10three minutes and then detonated his device.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14EXPLOSION AND GUNSHOT
0:41:16 > 0:41:19As the stadium and the surrounding area were
0:41:19 > 0:41:22being cleared, the third attacker triggered his bomb.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Each of the three suicide bombers' vests
0:41:33 > 0:41:37were packed with small metal objects.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40The damage caused around the area is still visible today.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Although there were 80,000 spectators watching the football
0:41:48 > 0:41:52inside the Stade de France, from Abaaoud's point of view,
0:41:52 > 0:41:54the operation was a failure.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59Only four people died and three of them were the suicide bombers.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04As president Francois Hollande was
0:42:04 > 0:42:07rushed to safety from the stadium,
0:42:07 > 0:42:12the centre of Paris was descending into chaos as Abaaoud
0:42:12 > 0:42:15took personal charge of the night's carnage.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24The attacks were carried out with meticulous planning
0:42:24 > 0:42:26and co-ordinated military precision.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Five minutes after the two suicide bombers had blown
0:42:30 > 0:42:33themselves up outside the Stade de France -
0:42:33 > 0:42:35that was at 9.17 and 9.20 -
0:42:35 > 0:42:39Abaaoud and his unit began their attack on
0:42:39 > 0:42:44the cafes and restaurants here in the heart of Paris.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47This time, given the failures of the past,
0:42:47 > 0:42:49Abaaoud was leaving nothing to chance.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53He was here on the ground directing operations.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00At these cafes in central Paris,
0:43:00 > 0:43:04Abaaoud and his gunmen ambushed and killed 14 people.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08Five more were gunned down here.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17One of the attackers moved in for the kill at this cafe.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Two women were lying on the pavement
0:43:20 > 0:43:22but his gun failed to fire.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28As Abaaoud and his men slaughtered another 20 people here,
0:43:28 > 0:43:31the bloody climax of the operation was about to
0:43:31 > 0:43:34begin at an American rock concert at the Bataclan.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38These were places where Western people
0:43:38 > 0:43:40were engaging in activities that
0:43:40 > 0:43:45Islamic State regard as inherently sinful and hence
0:43:45 > 0:43:47the people engaging in these activities were
0:43:47 > 0:43:51deserving of divine vengeance and punishment.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55The French investigation documents reveal that the attackers had
0:43:55 > 0:43:58downloaded detailed floor plans of the Bataclan.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01These are the actual images retrieved from one of
0:44:01 > 0:44:06the attackers' mobile phones. The investigation documents
0:44:06 > 0:44:08also show that the Bataclan team was
0:44:08 > 0:44:10in touch with a mobile in Belgium.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15One of the gunmen sent a last text message before dumping
0:44:15 > 0:44:16his phone in a bin.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26Two of the gunmen went in
0:44:26 > 0:44:28through the front of the Bataclan and started firing.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32GUNSHOTS
0:44:35 > 0:44:38As panic erupted inside, some of the audience
0:44:38 > 0:44:41rushed to one of the exits, which opened onto this alleyway.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47SHOUTING
0:44:49 > 0:44:51But a third gunman was waiting.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56They had anticipated how people would respond.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58Those trying to escape were mowed down.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04Abaaoud's plan to distract and confuse
0:45:04 > 0:45:06the police by simultaneous attacks
0:45:06 > 0:45:09across the city seemed to be working.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11There are only so many security forces,
0:45:11 > 0:45:15it takes them time to mobilise, so splitting them up
0:45:15 > 0:45:18and weakening their overall impact is an obvious
0:45:18 > 0:45:20thing to think about.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22The gunmen had time to
0:45:22 > 0:45:25secure the Bataclan by placing human shields in
0:45:25 > 0:45:28front of doors and windows.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31Even one of France's most senior police officers was
0:45:31 > 0:45:32taken aback by their tactics.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36SHE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:45:36 > 0:45:39- TRANSLATION:- Who would have expected that they turned up like that,
0:45:39 > 0:45:41armed to the teeth?
0:45:41 > 0:45:44Who were used to combat in the Iraq-Syria zone,
0:45:44 > 0:45:46who came like military officers to carry out
0:45:46 > 0:45:48a military operation.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50The difference is that they came to die.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56GUNSHOTS
0:45:57 > 0:46:00What's clear is that the gunmen inside
0:46:00 > 0:46:03the Bataclan were able to kill for over two hours.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12On standby, ready in Paris, were 40 elite officers from
0:46:12 > 0:46:16the GIGN, the French equivalent of the SAS,
0:46:16 > 0:46:20but protocol dictated it was police units, not the GIGN,
0:46:20 > 0:46:22that should intervene.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Yet they had been used against Abaaoud's cell in Verviers.
0:46:27 > 0:46:32The irony is that the GIGN was used in Belgium
0:46:32 > 0:46:34but was not used in France.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37HE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:46:37 > 0:46:40- TRANSLATION:- Yes, because the units we
0:46:40 > 0:46:43work with did not come to us to request
0:46:43 > 0:46:44our help in these operations.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49If you had been used, you might have intervened much sooner
0:46:49 > 0:46:51and more effectively, and more
0:46:51 > 0:46:53lives may have been saved.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58- TRANSLATION:- That's possible, but the unit which conducted
0:46:58 > 0:47:00operations felt it was in a position to
0:47:00 > 0:47:05complete the mission at its own level, which I totally respect.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12Abaaoud had outwitted the Western security services
0:47:12 > 0:47:16who had been trying to thwart him. He had won the race.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27After a series of failed operations, Abaaoud's
0:47:27 > 0:47:30meticulous planning - the recruitment, training
0:47:30 > 0:47:33and logistics - finally paid off.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36The resulting carnage is a grim testimony.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39130 dead and almost 700 injured.
0:47:44 > 0:47:49Don't the Paris attacks represent a huge intelligence failure?
0:47:51 > 0:47:53HE SPEAKS FRENCH
0:47:53 > 0:47:56- TRANSLATION:- It is obvious there have been failures.
0:47:56 > 0:47:57There were mistakes.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00We shouldn't accept this situation, especially because
0:48:00 > 0:48:03a number of terrorists were known. So, of course,
0:48:03 > 0:48:06there were intelligence failures.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09The intelligence services are overwhelmed by the situation.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19As Paris went into lockdown after the attacks,
0:48:19 > 0:48:22Abaaoud's chief organiser, Salah Abdeslam,
0:48:22 > 0:48:24was on the streets.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27The police hadn't yet discovered he was involved.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31He needed to escape, so he called on two friends from
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Molenbeek who sped to Paris to pick him up.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38We have seen copies of their police interrogations
0:48:38 > 0:48:39about the escape.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45Hamza Attou described Salah Abdeslam's behaviour as
0:48:45 > 0:48:47they pick him up in Paris nearly five hours
0:48:47 > 0:48:49after the attacks ended.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04Attou claims Abdeslam admitted his involvement.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20And he claimed Abdeslam threatened him.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31SIREN
0:49:36 > 0:49:38But rather than flee, Abdeslam and his
0:49:38 > 0:49:41associates drove around a district of Paris
0:49:41 > 0:49:42for 20 minutes.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Then he ordered the driver to head for Brussels.
0:50:07 > 0:50:08After this, they ended up on
0:50:08 > 0:50:12the motorway and drove straight into a police checkpoint.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14It was a chance to catch Abdeslam
0:50:14 > 0:50:17but, even though the driver of the car says
0:50:17 > 0:50:19he told police he had been drinking,
0:50:19 > 0:50:20they were still let go.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34Despite more police checkpoints,
0:50:34 > 0:50:36they reach this service station
0:50:36 > 0:50:40and Salah Abdeslam was confident enough to be out of the car.
0:50:44 > 0:50:45By the time they were here,
0:50:45 > 0:50:48they had been stopped three times at police checkpoints.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50They showed their real identity cards
0:50:50 > 0:50:53and, despite the fact that Salah was on a watchlist, they were
0:50:53 > 0:50:55allowed to continue.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57We've been told that if Salah had
0:50:57 > 0:51:00been stopped just 15 minutes later, he would
0:51:00 > 0:51:03have been flagged as someone connected to the Paris attacks.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06CAR HORN BLARES
0:51:06 > 0:51:10Salah Abdeslam arrived back in Brussels around noon.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17He was on the run, so he decided to change his appearance.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39Attou says Abdeslam pleaded for his loyalty.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51Abdeslam then called on another associate for the next
0:51:51 > 0:51:52stage of his escape.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56We've also seen his police interrogation.
0:52:03 > 0:52:04They asked me to go to a cafe
0:52:04 > 0:52:07where we could get a drink and talk.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10Salah Abdeslam feared his associated might be monitored.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15Before he went into the cafe, Salah asked us
0:52:15 > 0:52:17to leave our phones behind in the car.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20He told us to take the batteries out and
0:52:20 > 0:52:23leave the handsets in the vehicle.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26He asked me some questions about the news - how many had
0:52:26 > 0:52:30been killed, how many suicide bombers there had been.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33He asked me how many of the attackers were dead
0:52:33 > 0:52:35and seemed to be analysing the situation.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37He also told me that he was not supposed
0:52:37 > 0:52:40to be there when things were happening.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43Oulkadi drove him to another district of Brussels.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46It was the last known sighting of him for months.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49He squeezed my arm and said
0:52:49 > 0:52:53we would never see each other again, then he left.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56He took the first street on the right and then disappeared.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04Back in Paris, Abaaoud was still at large.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07We have seen the intelligence on where he was.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15Abaaoud was hiding out somewhere around here,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18which is an industrial area,
0:53:18 > 0:53:21and the report of the French investigation gives very
0:53:21 > 0:53:24detailed instructions on
0:53:24 > 0:53:27how to find Abaaoud's hideout.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36This is where the world's most wanted man had holed up.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39He was planning another attack but needed help.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43In an act that would lead to his undoing,
0:53:43 > 0:53:47he turned to a woman who had wanted to marry him years earlier.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53It was his cousin, Hasna.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55Hasna came to this hideout
0:53:55 > 0:53:58but the problem was she has brought a friend...
0:54:00 > 0:54:03..and after they left the bush, the friend rang the police.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08Despite the resources of the CIA,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11the Mossad and European security agencies, who had been
0:54:11 > 0:54:15desperate to find him, it was a tip-off from Hasna's
0:54:15 > 0:54:18friend that finally led the hunters to Abaaoud.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24The police watched him for the next two days.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29Hasna was also under surveillance
0:54:29 > 0:54:31as she rented this flat in Saint-Denis.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34It was to be Abaaoud's final hiding place.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38Five days after the Paris attacks, with Hasna, Abaaoud
0:54:38 > 0:54:42and another attacker inside, the police
0:54:42 > 0:54:44stormed the building.
0:54:44 > 0:54:45GUNSHOTS
0:54:45 > 0:54:48Despite 5,000 bullets being fired
0:54:48 > 0:54:51by the police and their claims of a long firefight,
0:54:51 > 0:54:53there was only one gun in the flat.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59This police photo revealed it was this
0:54:59 > 0:55:01nine-millimetre pistol.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03SHOUTING
0:55:03 > 0:55:07The siege ended when the cell member standing beside Abaaoud and Hasna
0:55:07 > 0:55:09detonated his suicide vest...
0:55:11 > 0:55:12..killing all of them.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21This week's bloodshed in Brussels shows that
0:55:21 > 0:55:25IS's ability to hit Europe did not die with Abaaoud.
0:55:29 > 0:55:30Just as in Paris,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33these attacks were carefully coordinated.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42Multiple civilian targets struck in quick succession.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44It is really going to be hard for the security forces to
0:55:44 > 0:55:47mobilise quickly, coordinate, so it is
0:55:47 > 0:55:50a very difficult situation for them to have to deal with,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53it creates a lot of uncertainty, panic,
0:55:53 > 0:55:57fear, exactly the things that terrorists are keen to achieve.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02For the future, the outlook is bleak.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07- TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH: - We are going towards events
0:56:07 > 0:56:10even more serious, several cities and other
0:56:10 > 0:56:12countries could be attacked.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18The problem for the security services is that no-one
0:56:18 > 0:56:21knows how many operatives are still out there
0:56:21 > 0:56:23ready to die for their cause.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29The big question now is - can IS be stopped?
0:56:31 > 0:56:35It is likely and probable that things like that will happen
0:56:35 > 0:56:39again and I fear that, in the West,
0:56:39 > 0:56:43Belgium included, we will have to live for the coming years
0:56:43 > 0:56:46with the threat of that kind of terrorism.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51The fight against the so-called Islamic State
0:56:51 > 0:56:53is not yet over.