The May 2015 report, dubbed “Future ISIL Operations in West Could Resemble Disrupted Belgian Plot,” studied an ISIL attack thwarted in Belgium in January, according to the broadcaster. The study was jointly authored by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), and published by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Intelligence and Analysis directorate.
The assessment distinguished between a “simplistic” ISIL-inspired or —directed lone wolf attack and “complex, centrally planned plotting in Belgium.”
The report described Abdelhamid Abaaoud as an ISIL ringleader in Belgium. Belgium-born Abaaoud is thought to be the mastermind behind the recent attacks in Paris, said to be the deadliest in France since World War II.
Following the Paris attacks, news resurfaced of Abaaoud telling an ISIL-affiliated magazine in February that he had arrived in Belgium to organize a terror plot in Europe. US-led coalition forces were reported to have tracked the jihadist while he was in Syria to kill him during an airstrike, but failed to locate him in the weeks ahead of the Paris attacks.
Reached for comment on the May 2015 assessment, the DHS told the network it “routinely shares information and collaborates” with international, federal, state and local law enforcement and intelligence colleagues.
