Paris attacks: Eight terror suspects named so far are not refugees and have EU passports

[Rob L 3,811]

Several of the suspects lived in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek

Claims that a surge in the number of refugees entering Europe from Syria has allowed jihadists to sneak into France, Germany and Belgium unchecked and unnoticed have propagated in the days since Friday's Paris terror attacks, in which 129 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded.

A passport found near the remains of a suicide bomber at the Stade de France purporting to belong to a Syrian refugee named Ahmed Almuhamed, 25, gave rise to 'scare' headlines such as 'Paris attacks terrorist suspect rescued near Greece after his refugee boat sunk' and 'Jihadis sneaked into Europe as fake Syrian refugees'.

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According to the Greek government, the passport was used by someone who landed in the Greek islands in early October, before being used again to cross the southern border into Serbia. The French prosecutor's office said the fingerprints of the dead man matched a print of a person registered under the same name in Greece in October 2015.

But there were claims that the document was stolen or a fake, made in Turkey, and French investigators said it may even have been 'planted' at the scene of the bombings at the Stade de France as part of a sophisticated propaganda plan by Isis to infiltrate and exploit the refugee crisis.

Nevertheless, following its discovery Poland rescinded its offer to take in thousands of Syrians, previously agreed under a new EU refugee quota system, with minister for European affairs Konrad Szymanski saying Poland "must retain full control over its borders, asylum and immigration".

Abdelhamid Abaaoud has been named by officials as the “presumed” mastermind of the attacks

Furthermore, since the attacks, more than 420,000 people have signed a petition calling on the UK to 'close its borders', despitepleas for people not to blame refugees for the attacks in Paris, andwarnings from the UN that refugees should not be used as 'scapegoats'.

So what is the truth behind the identities of the known terror suspects?

The information may throw a more cautionary light on our reactions to refugees - for contrary to rumour, none of the named suspects recently arrived in Europe from Syria or elsewhere, and most had been born - or grew up - in France and Belgium.

The identities of the eight people directly involved can be broken down as follows:

Bilal Hadfi, 20 - French (living in Belgium)

Ismaël Omar Mostefaï, 29 - French

Samy Amimour, 28 - French

Ibrahim Abdeslam, 31 - French (living in Belgium)

Salah Abdeslam, 26 - French (living in Belgium)

Hamza Attou, 21 - Belgian

Mohamed Amri, 27 - Belgian (born in Morocco)

*Eighth suspect (unidentified) carrying stolen passport in name of 'Ahmad al-Mohammad', 25 - from Idlib, Syria

The alleged mastermind is Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, from Belgium.

In pictures: Saint-Denis raid

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All of them are EU passport holders, and while some were born in Morocco, others were born and raised in France and Belgium before being radicalised.

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Abdelhamid Abaaoud's father Omar said his son, who has been described as the 'mastermind' of the attacks, had turned his back on a "fantastic" life, and reportedly joined Isis in Syria in 2013.

The Telegraph also reported that as few as one in 100 wanted terrorists carrying European passports were being checked against the EU’s anti-terrorism watchlist in some countries.

Just 10-20 per cent of EU citizens have their passports checked against a database designed to catch foreign fighters returning from Syria and Iraq, the paper claimed.

This means that 'home-grown jihadists' are able to travel freely from Syria to Europe.

Salah Abdeslam, the 26-year-old who is wanted for his part in Friday's killings

Melissa Fleming, a UNHCR spokesperson, told a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the organisation was "deeply disturbed by language that demonizes refugees as a group".

"This is dangerous as it will contribute to xenophobia and fear," she warned, adding: "The security problems Europe faces are highly complex.

"Refugees should not be turned into scapegoats and must not become the secondary victims of these most tragic events."

[Boiler 46,349]

All good French names.

Vive la France

- anything they might have had in common?

[Jacque67 7,328]

All good French names.

Vive la France

- anything they might have had in common?

Wow.... This is allowed?

[Boiler 46,349]

Wow.... This is allowed?

How do you stop a suicide bomber etc?

[Jacque67 7,328]

How do you stop a suicide bomber etc?

By not feeding him/her leeks?

[Boiler 46,349]

By not feeding him/her leeks?

Or Swedes?

Couscous seems the more logical option.

[Dakine10 5,452]

All good French names.

Vive la France

- anything they might have had in common?

Yes. Several things you are choosing to ignore in favor of posting one liners.

1) they were all terrorists

2) They did not enter as refugee's

[Boiler 46,349]

1. Innocent to proven guilty.

2. Never said they were.

[Robby999 1,024]

Yes. Several things you are choosing to ignore in favor of posting one liners.

1) they were all terrorists

2) They did not enter as refugee's

Speaking of ignoring things.

3) They were all Muslims

[Dakine10 5,452]

Speaking of ignoring things.

3) They were all Muslims

Yeah - I don't think he ignored that. If sarcasm is not your thing, maybe we can ask Boiler to start using italics.

[smilesammich 10,727]

its almost like we've been primed over the last 15 years to sacrifice our rights for a sense of 'security'..keep focusing on one particular religion, just like the terrorists want. seems smart.

[Boiler 46,349]

Just so reminiscent of the late 30's and Fascism.

its almost like we've been primed over the last 15 years to sacrifice our rights for a sense of 'security'..keep focusing on one particular religion, just like the terrorists want. seems smart.

I was thinking more of the convert or die options.

Theoretically there is the Jizya.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

So what you are saying is even if they are vetted, they are still dangerous

Great point

[Dakine10 5,452]

Just so reminiscent of the late 30's and Fascism.

I was thinking more of the convert or die options.

Theoretically there is the Jizya.

There is no convert option. The terrorist's want you to die.

When the response to terrorism is to blame and attack the wrong enemy, that only helps the terrorists reach their goal.

[Boiler 46,349]

So what you are saying is even if they are vetted, they are still dangerous

Great point

I hear about these multi agencies and checks etc, house to house calls.

How many offices does say the FBI have in Syria, Iraq, wherever?