Paris attacks mastermind directed would-be train attacker

Accused breaks 16 months of silence to name ISIL member Abdelhamid Abaaoud as the man who told him to target an Amsterdam-Paris express train in August 2015.

An undated photo released by a social network shows Ayoub El Khazzani, a 27-year-old Moroccan on trial for planning to shoot passengers on an Amsterdam-Paris train on August 21, 2015. AFP / Social netShow more

PARIS // The main suspect in a high-speed train attack thwarted by three Americans last year in northern France acted on orders from the leading member of the ISIL cell that attacked Paris three months later, according to his lawyer.

Ayoub El Khazzani broke a 16-month silence to testify before a judge that he had received specific orders from ISIL kingpin Abdelhamid Abaaoud who told him to attack a Thalys express train in August 2015.

His lawyer, Sarah Mauger-Poliak, said El Khazzani, a 27-year-old Moroccan, was questioned at his request by a Paris counterterrorism judge this week for more than five hours. It was the first time he had agreed to answer questions about the case.

“He gave the judge the name of the person who instructed him to attack this specific Thalys train: it’s Abaaoud,” said Ms Mauger-Poliak.

French authorities had earlier linked El Khazzani to Abaaoud, without giving details. This is the first time that Abaaoud has been directly linked to the Thalys train attack or named as the man who ordered it.

Abaaoud died a few days after the Paris attacks in a police raid outside the capital.

During a hearing held behind closed doors on Wednesday, El Khazzani told the investigating judge he made a trip to Syria and later travelled with Abaaoud in summer 2015. The two men made several stops together, including one in Budapest, Hungary.

In front of the judge, the suspect presented himself as a “jihadist,” as “a soldier who wanted to attack other soldiers,” said Ms Mauger-Poliak. “He never intended to commit mass killings of civilians. He was aiming at a specific target in a first-class car of the train.”

The lawyer said El Khazzani explained what the target was to the judge, but she declined to disclose it because the investigation is continuing.

Only the judge, the suspect anf his lawyer were present at the hearing. Since investigating judges are not allowed to speak publicly about an ongoing case, and it was not immediately possible to verify Ms Mauger-Poliak’s account.

El Khazzani decided to speak to the judge after 16 months of silence “because he wants to differentiate himself from the indiscriminate attacks” that killed 130 people in Paris in November 2015 and another 84 in Nice in July, she said.

“He never wanted to do those kinds of things. That was not his mission.”

During his questioning by the judge in camera, “all the subjects were discussed, a general picture was made.” El Khazzani was “moved” throughout his hearing, sometimes breaking down in tears, said Ms Mauger-Poliak

A new hearing with the judge is set for next week, and several more will follow because El Khazzani is now determined to talk, she said.

Investigators are hoping El Khazzani will provide key details on the Thalys attack, but also on the jihadist network and ordering persons both behind it and the Paris attacks.

On the Thalys train bound for Paris, El Khazzani allegedly tried to open fire with an assault rifle but was overpowered by a group of passengers, including three childhood friends from the US state of California. They were all awarded the Legion of Honor, France’s highest decoration.

* Associated Press