Abu Yousef al-Belgiki named as shooter in Paris attack claimed by the Islamic State
The Islamic State claimed that it had carried out Thursdays attack on the Champs-Elysees. The Islamist terror group made the announcement via its Amaq news site, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.
According to Amaq, the attacker is Abu Yousef al-Belgiki, the last being an indication he was living in neighboring Belgium. The ISIS statement, issued in multiple languages including French, called him a soldier of the Caliphate.
Reuters had earlier reported that an arrest warrant had been issued in the Paris shooting for a suspect who arrived from Belgium by train.
Jenan Moussa, a reporter with the Arabic Al-Aan TV, noted that the claim of responsibility and the naming were unusually swift for ISIS, suggesting that this may have been an attack about which ISIS had advance operational knowledge, rather than an attempt to claim credit for what the group had just indirectly inspired.
Source: /Washington Times