The mother of Paris suicide bomber Ibrahim Abdeslam says her son “did not mean to kill anyone.” The mother also claimed that her son’s suicide belt must have gone off “accidentally” and added that he could have blown himself up “because of stress.”
Ibrahim Abdeslam , 31, is responsible for the ISIS attack outside the cafe Comptoir Voltaire in Paris, the Daily Mail notes. The cafe is located close to the Bataclan concert hall, where the tragic Paris attack massacre occurred on Friday night. The suicide bomber’s brother Mohamed Abdeslam was arrested in Molenbeek on Saturday. The city is located in western Brussels.
Salah Abdeslam , a third brother, was questioned and released by police after crossing the border into Belgium. He is now the focus of an international manhunt, the Telegraph reports.
#ParisAttacks Paris Terror Attacks: Suicide Bomber Ibrahim Abdeslam Escapes Ali… https://t.co/meVUDplYyW #News #… pic.twitter.com/k3Cb255XY2
— Visvya Solutions (@VisvyaSolutions) November 16, 2015
Salah Abdeslam is from a Brussels suburb that is often referred to as the “jihadi” capital of Europe. The Abdeslam family told the media that they were “surprised” that he blew himself up during the ISIS terror attacks in Paris. The 26-year-old has spent “a long time” in Syria, according to his mother and other relatives who spoke with the media.
While speaking with reporters from the front porch of her home via a nephew, the mother of the suicide bomber said that the family was sure Ibrahim had not planned to kill anyone.
“This was not his plan, that’s for sure,” the mother of the suicide bomber claimed. “The fact that his suicide belt exploded without killing anyone says a lot. We even saw him two days before the attacks. There were no signs that they had plans to do anything violent.”
The Abdeslam family also uttered surprise that Salah was involved with the Paris attacks. Ibrahim, they say, was “different.” The relatives said that they have noticed that he had, at least in part, been radicalized by ISIS. The family members also said they did not think he had been radicalized to a degree that would prompt him to commit such an atrocity.
The suicide belt worn by Ibrahim Abdeslam during the Paris attacks blew him up and seriously injured a bystander.
BREAKING: Belgium radio says the 8th Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam has been arrested in #Molenbeek . pic.twitter.com/UvVR5gmHGy
— Breaking News (@NewsOnTheMin) November 16, 2015
Just moments after Ibrahim Abdeslam used his suicide bomb belt in a solo attack at the French cafe, another group of ISIS fighters started shooting at the Bataclan music hall crowds with AK-47s. The terrorists are believed to have included three men and one woman.
Survivors of the Bataclan attack told French authorities that all three of the ISIS fighters blew themselves up. A fourth terrorist was shot and killed by police officers before another bomb could be detonated.
Seven individuals have now been detained in Belgium as possible suspects linked to the atrocities. Three of the suspects were found along the border and four were located in Brussels. Five of the alleged Paris attack conspirators are from the Molenbeek region of Brussels. The area is reportedly known as a “den of terrorists.”
Omar Mostefai was the first of the seven dead ISIS attackers to be identified. The 29-year-old who reportedly opened fire inside the Bataclan music hall lived in the town of Chartres, southwest of Paris. Omar Mostefaï was reportedly known to French police as being “close to radical Islam” but had never before been linked to a “terrorism inquiry,” Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said.
On Saturday, French police took both Omar’s brother and father into custody for questioning. The homes of both Mostefai men were searched, as were the residences of relatives and close friends.
Do you think the United States should allow more Syrian refugees into the country in the wake of the Paris attacks by ISIS?
[Image via AP Photo/Peter Dejong]