The French newspaper Libération are reporting today that Mohamed Abrini, one of the men responsible for the recent bombings of Brussels, has said that his terrorist cell had initially planned on attacking France during the European Championships. The Libération report read as follows:
According to our information, Mohamed Abrini has explained the initial intention of this nebulous terrorist Franco-Belgian terrorist group was to go into action during the Euro football tournament.
Abrini and the rest of his cell are part of ISIS, and are connected with the terrorist group that carried out multiple attacks on Paris in November, which left more than 130 people dead. It was reported yesterday that the group had not originally intended to attack Brussels, instead planning another attack on France.
The Libération report identifies the football tournament as the target of that attack. French police responded to the report by saying that "it’s hardly a scoop to learn that the terrorists were hoping to attack during the Euro. The security forces are always examining possible attack scenarios to know how to respond".
Abrini confessed to being "the man in the hat", seen on CCTV leaving a bag of explosions at Brussels airport. He has been wanted by police since November, having been identified driving a Renault Clio with gunmen involved in the Paris attacks.
The European Championships are expected to attract more than 2.5 million football fans to France, with the tournament beginning on June 10th and the final taking place in Paris at the Stade de France a month later.
[Guardian]
