Half of the Paris terrorist squad were known to U.S. intelligence for months and had been 'watched' or placed on no fly lists

  • Nine attackers said to have been involved in the massacres that killed 129 
  • Four names were recorded on the central counter-terrorism database TIDE 
  • At least one of the terrorists also had his name on a selective 'no fly list'
  • US experts warned in May that ISIS could carry out series of terror attacks
  • See our full news coverage on the ISIS Paris attackers

Half of the Paris attackers were known about by US intelligence, officials have revealed.

Their names were recorded on the central counter-terrorism database TIDE months before last Friday's coordinated attacks on the European capital, which killed 129 people.

At least one of the terrorist squad also had his name on a selective 'no fly list', it was said. 

Up to nine attackers are said to have been involved in the massacre including Ahmad Almohammad, 25, Bilal Hadfi, 20, Ibrahim Abdeslam, 31, Omar Ismaël Mostefai, 29, and Samy Amimour, 28. Seven died in the attacks.

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Ahmad Almohammad
Bilal Hadfi

Aware: Half of the Paris attackers were familiar to U.S. intelligence, officials have revealed. Ahmad Almohammad (left) and Bilal Hadfi (right) were two of the men involved, but it is not known if they were on the list

French police are still hunting Salah Abdeslam, who has been on the run since last Friday and is said to be in disguise and using a new name, Yassine Baghli.

A paper issued by National Counter-terrorism Center last year reported that as of December 2013, TIDE contained 'around 1.1 million persons' including 'multiple minor spelling variations of their names'.

The Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE) is the U.S. Government's central database on known or suspected international terrorists, and contains highly-classified information provided by members of the Intelligence Community.

U.S. spy and law enforcement agencies 'nominate' names for TIDE, one of the officials said.

They added that the Paris attackers were not believed to be U.S. citizens or residents and said their names were put in the database after intelligence information was shared by European authorities. 

The news emerged as New York City police said they were aware of a newly released Islamic State video that suggests that the largest U.S. city was a potential target of a similar set of attacks. 

Stephen Davis, deputy NYPD commissioner, said: 'While some of the video footage is not new, the video reaffirms the message that New York City remains a top terrorist target. 

Omar Mostefai, 29
Samy Amimour, 28

Involved: Omar Mostefai, 29, and Samy Amimour, 28, were also part of the terrorist squad. Eight of the attackers died on the night 

New identity: Salah Abdeslam (left) - alleged to have hired the black VW Polo used the terrorists on Friday - is said to be using a new name and disguising himself using a wig and glasses (right)

New identity: Salah Abdeslam (left) - alleged to have hired the black VW Polo used the terrorists on Friday - is said to be using a new name and disguising himself using a wig and glasses (right)

Hiding: Authorities had believed he might be hiding with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the Paris terror attacks, pictured, who was staying in a flat in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis 

Hiding: Authorities had believed he might be hiding with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the Paris terror attacks, pictured, who was staying in a flat in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis 

EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE OF PARIS ATTACKS SHOWS DINERS DIVING FOR COVER

Terrifying video footage of a sustained attack on a restaurant during the Paris Massacre has been revealed by the Daily Mail.

The exclusive images show the merciless savagery of an Islamic State assassin and the extraordinary bravery and survival instincts of his intended victims.

They also show the incredible luck of a young woman who would have died had the terrorist's assault rifle not misfired as he held the weapon over her head, giving her a chance to run away.

Shocking: Extraordinary video of a sustained attack on a restaurant during the Paris massacre has been revealed by the Daily Mail. Three CCTV cameras inside the premises recorded the heart-stopping moment at least 30 bullets were fired  from the street, leaving the pizzeria engulfed in dust and splintered glass as terrified diners ran for cover behind counters and under tables

Shocking: Extraordinary video of a sustained attack on a restaurant during the Paris massacre has been revealed by the Daily Mail. Three CCTV cameras inside the premises recorded the heart-stopping moment at least 30 bullets were fired from the street, leaving the pizzeria engulfed in dust and splintered glass as terrified diners ran for cover behind counters and under tables

Police believe her to be the luckiest person to escape with their life during Friday's psychopathic rampage which left 129 people dead and 99 critically injured.

There is also remarkable footage of a 20-year-old waitress who ducked under the bar and wrapped her arms around an older, injured woman as the Islamic State gunman sprayed the restaurant and its outdoor dining area with bullets.

It is the first time any film has been seen of the mayhem caused inside a property targeted by Islamic State six days ago.

Chilling: The footage also shows the incredible luck of a young woman who would have died had the terrorist's assault rifle not misfired as he held the weapon over her head (circled) as she cowered under a table outside the cafe. He gives up, allowing her to run to safety

Chilling: The footage also shows the incredible luck of a young woman who would have died had the terrorist's assault rifle not misfired as he held the weapon over her head (circled) as she cowered under a table outside the cafe. He gives up, allowing her to run to safety

The Daily Mail can reveal that the gunman responsible for the attack on the restaurant, which is not being named for security reasons, is believed to be 26-year-old Belgian born Salah Abdeslam. 

The terrorist seen in the footage bears a striking resemblance to Abdeslam, who fled Paris after the attacks and evaded capture after a shocking blunder by police near the Franco-Belgian border. He remains at large.

Sources said it was possible a second, as yet unidentified gunman, might have been involved in the restaurant attack. He may still be on the run, too. 

'While there is no current or specific threat to the city at this time, we will remain at a heightened state of vigilance.'

It was also reported that U.S. intelligence warned in May that Islamic State had developed the capability to carry out a series of coordinated terror attacks. 

The report focused on the lesson learned from a plot disrupted by Belgian authorities in January and called it 'the first instance in which a large group of terrorists possibly operating under ISIS has been discovered'.

It added that the plot 'may indicate that the group has developed the capability to launch more complex operations in the West'. 

Gruesome: The head and spine (pictured) of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, Europe's first female suicide bomber,  flew onto the road after she blew herself up

Gruesome: The head and spine (pictured) of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, Europe's first female suicide bomber,  flew onto the road after she blew herself up

Missing: But they were the only two who died, and Abdeslam was not among those arrested (pictured)

Missing: But they were the only two who died, and Abdeslam was not among those arrested (pictured)

Investigations into the group’s activities spanned several European countries, including France, it added.

Experts also explicitly picked out the alleged mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud, whose cousin blew herself up after being surrounded by French police yesterday.

Dramatic footage emerged of the final moments of Europe's first female suicide bomber as she screamed 'he's not my boyfriend' seconds before blowing herself to pieces.

Hasna Ait Boulahcen's head was sent flying out of a window and her spine landed on a police car when she detonated an explosive vest during a fierce gun and grenade battle with French commandos.

PARIS MASSACRE: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR ABOUT THE DEADLY ATTACKS

At least 129 people are dead, and another 352 injured, after three teams of jihadis struck the Stade de France football stadium, a handful of bars and cafes, and then finally the Bataclan concert hall.

FIRST TWO ATTACKS: STADE DE FRANCE

  • The attacks began at 9.20pm at the Stade de France where the French football team was hosting Germany in an international friendly.
  • The game was being watched by 80,000 spectators, among them was President Francois Hollande who had to be evacuated from the stadium. 
  • Ahmed Almohammad, 25, from Syria approached the stadium with a match ticket. He was turned away from Gate D after being frisked by a security guard.
  • He backed away from the gate and detonated his vest, killing one other person. A passport was found near his body.
  • A second suicide bomber, Bilal Hadfi, 20, blew himself up near Gate H at 9.30pm. No one else was reported killed. Hadfi is said to have fought with ISIS in Syria.

THIRD ATTACK: LE PETIT CAMBODGE AND LE CARILLON BAR

  • At 9.25pm a separate team of gunmen arrived in a Black Seat and attacked diners at popular Cambodian restaurant Le Petit Cambodge and Le Carillon bar in the trendy Canal Saint-Martin area of eastern Paris, killing 15. The gunmen were using Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles. 

Timeline of events: Eight terrorists carried out the devastating attacks on Friday night, leaving 129 people dead and another 352 injured

FOURTH ATTACK: LA CASA NOSTRA PIZZERIA AND LA BELLE EQUIPE BAR

  • The same unit then drove about 500 yards to La Casa Nostra pizzeria and opened fire on diners on the terrace of the restaurant, killing at least five people.
  • From there, the militants drove around a mile south-east – apparently past the area of the Bataclan concert venue – to launch another attack, this time on La Belle Equipe bar in Rue de Charonne. At least 19 people died after the terrace was sprayed with bullets at 9.36pm The attackers then drove off.

FIFTH ATTACK: CAFÉ 'COMPTOIR VOLTAIRE'

  • At 9.40pm, Ibrahim Abdeslam, also known as Brahim, 31, set off a suicide vest inside cafe 'Comptoir Voltaire' on the Boulevard Voltaire and close to the Bataclan theatre. He hired a black Seat car used in the attack, which was found later abandoned with three assault rifles, along with five full magazines. The killers had emptied 11 magazines, firing an estimated 330 rounds. 

SIXTH ATTACK: BATACLAN MUSIC HALL

  • At 9.40pm, the third group (believed to be three men and a woman) armed with AK-47s stormed the Bataclan music hall and began shooting members of the crowd. Survivors claim three blew themselves up and a fourth person was shot dead by police before they could detonate their bomb.

SEVENTH ATTACK: NEAR STADE DE FRANCE

  • At around 10.15pm a third blast took place near the Stade de France, this time by a McDonald's restaurant on the fringes of the stadium. The boom caused terror among spectators who had already been attempting to flee the stadium following the first two explosions. The attacker who detonated his suicide vest was identified as a 20-year-old French man living in Belgium.
Tearful members of the public view flowers and tributes on the pavement near the scene of the concert hall massacre on Friday

Tearful members of the public view flowers and tributes on the pavement near the scene of the concert hall massacre on Friday

AFTERMATH:

Saturday 

  • On Saturday morning, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks across Paris, saying 'eight brothers wearing explosive belts and carrying assault rifles' conducted a 'blessed attack on... Crusader France'.
  • On Saturday morning, the world's most wanted man, Salah Abdeslam is stopped by French police along with two other men as he approached the Belgian border. He is released after he shows his ID and returns to the Jihadi hotspot of Molenbeek in Brussels where he vanishes.
  • French and Belgian police continue to hunt for three suspected gunmen on the run, including Abdeslam, and an ISIS bombmaker likely to have made the suicide vests. An international arrest warrant is issued for Abdeslam, 26.

Sunday

  • One of the Stade de France suspects was found carrying a Syrian passport under the name Ahmed Almohammad who travelled to France as a migrant through Greece on October 3. Ferry tickets reveal he travelled with another man named as Mohammed Almuhamed. 
  • However, the French minister of justice Christiane Taubira said on Sunday that the passport under the name Ahmed Almohammad was a fake.
  • Omar Ismaël Mostefai, 29, from Courcouronnes, Paris was also named as a Bataclan suicide bomber. The petty criminal and father-of-one was known to police as a radical and had travelled to Algeria and Syria. He was identified by the fingerprint on a severed digit found after he detonated his suicide belt. 
  • Mostefai is believed to have been radicalised by a Belgian hate preacher of Moroccan descent claimed to have regularly preached at his mosque in South West France.
  • The black Seat Leon used by the terrorists who murdered diners outside the Casa Nostra pizza restaurant and the La Belle Équipe cafe was found abandoned 20 minutes away in Montreuil with three AK-47s and 16 magazines - 11 of them empty. 
  • Seven people were detained in Belgium linked to the atrocities. Five are from the Molenbeek area of Brussels known as a 'den of terrorists'.
  • Five of those arrested, including the brother of Salah and Ibrahim Abdeslam, Mohamed, have been released without charge. Two others have been charged with unspecified terrorist offences and are believed to have been on their way to pick up Salah Abdeslam at his request.
  • Iraqi spies warned the West of an ISIS suicide bomber threat the day before the Paris atrocities, it was revealed on Sunday, as more details of major intelligence failures began to emerge. The US-led coalition in Syria was apparently told by Iraqi security sources that 24 extremists were involved in the terror operation planned in the ISIS capital Raqqa and it would involve 19 attackers including five others including bombmakers and planners. No detail was given of when or where an attack might take place.
  • It has also emerged that Turkey's authorities foiled a plot to stage a 'Jihadi John revenge attack' in Istanbul - involving a high-profile British jihadist - on the same day as the deadly massacre in Paris. 
  • From as far back as August, France's authorities possessed information that militants were said to be planning attacks on French concert halls after a tip-off was received from a 30-year-old man who was detained on his way back from Syria.
  • It emerged on Sunday night that police found Abdeslam near the Belgian border early Saturday but let him go after he showed them his ID card. Two other men were also in the car.
  • At the time, officers in Paris knew that Abdeslam had rented the car used by the killers which had been abandoned near the theatre but the information had not been transmitted to those responsible for conducting the border checks.
  • On Sunday evening the French defence ministry announced that the country's warplanes had bombed Islamic State's stronghold in Syria's Raqa, destroying a command post and a training camp. Ten fighter jets were involved, dropping 20 bombs.
Thousands lined the streets of Paris on Monday for a minute's silence to remember those killed in a wave of attacks on the city on Friday

Thousands lined the streets of Paris on Monday for a minute's silence to remember those killed in a wave of attacks on the city on Friday

Monday 

  • French and Belgian police conducted 168 pre-dawn anti-terror raids on Monday, including a botched attempt to capture Abdeslam, who is still on the run. The raids took place at addresses in Brussels, Toulouse, Lyon, Grenoble, Calais and two suburbs of Paris. A rocket launcher, flak jackets, several pistols and a Kalashnikov assault rifle were among the cache of weapons seized in Lyon overnight.
  • French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 104 people had been placed under house arrest, while 23 suspects were detained for questioning. 
  • The mastermind behind the Paris terror attacks is named as one of ISIS' top executioners, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, who even recruited his 13-year-old brother to fight with him in Syria. 
  • ISIS issue a chilling new video warning that countries taking part in air strikes against Syria will suffer the same fate as Paris and claimed they will attack Washington D.C. next.
  • Thousands line the streets of Paris for a minute's silence to remember those killed in the wave of attacks on the city

Tuesday

  • French police discover a safe house used by the terror gang in the Bobigny suburb of Paris rented three days before the attack.
  • The Royal Air Force has stuck ISIS targets in northern Iraq as the French continue their air strikes against the Jihadi stronghold of Raqqa, Syria. 

Wednesday

  • Elite French firearms teams descend on a Saint-Denis flat in a pre-dawn raid which begins at 4am.
  • They believe Abdel Hamid Abaaoud is holed up in the safe house, having been led there by monitoring Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a French-born woman cousin of Abaaoud. They also believe that on-the-run terrorist Salah Abdeslam and a ninth attacker are among five fanatics present.
  • Hundreds of police marksmen, supported by military units, surround an apartment block at 8, Rue du Corbillon, and a ferocious seven-hour battle breaks out with the terrorists.
  • Ait Bboulahcen is killed by another bomber as she tries to give herself up, screaming 'Help me, help me!' at police. Her head and spine were found in the street after being blasted through a window.
  • A police dog named Diesel is killed in the blast.
  • Another terrorist, later identified to be Abdelhamid Abaaoud, is shot in the head by a police sniper and then blown to pieces by grenades.
  • The siege ends after six hours with five people taken alive from the flat and arrested, two terrorists dead and five police officers suffering minor injuries. Three more people are arrested nearby, bringing the total number to eight.
  • French prosecutor Francois Molins reveals that neither Abaaoud nor Salah Abdeslam, who has been on the run since Friday's attacks, were among the suspects arrested.
  • Police issue an international alert for a 19-year-old man, Mohamed Khoualed, who is suspected of making the suicide bombs used in the Paris attacks.

Thursday

  • Terrifying video footage of a sustained attack on a restaurant during the Paris Massacre is revealed by the Daily Mail. The exclusive images show the incredible luck of a young woman who would have died had the terrorist's assault rifle not misfired as he held the weapon over her head, giving her a chance to run away. The gunman responsible for the attack on the restaurant, which is not named for security reasons, is believed to be 26-year-old Belgian born Salah Abdeslam. He remains at large.
  • French prosecutors confirm that Abaaoud is one of the terrorists who was killed in the raid. His body was so unrecognisable it took more than 24 hours for forensic tests to confirm he was dead using DNA from his saliva.
  • His cousin Hasna Ait Bboulahcen is named as the woman who blew herself up. 
  • The announcement followed a warning by France’s prime minister that ISIS could unleash a chemical attack on the country. Manuel Valls said militant jihadists linked to the terrorist cell that carried out the Paris attacks possessed the capability to strike with chemical and biological weapons.
  • U.S. security officials also report that they have found proof that ISIS is developing bioweapons with the help of Syrian and Iraqi scientists in the Middle-East. 
  • A bill to extend France's state of emergency is passed by the lower house of parliament.
  • ISIS suffers a third day of heavy losses as Russia continues its bombing blitz against the terror group. The country's jets flew more than 100 combat sorties on Thursday, following 126 the day before, after President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to escalate their campaign in Syria.
  • Suspected bomb-maker Mohamed Khoualed turns himself in to police in the French city of Lille.


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