Jihadi brothers were 'high on drugs'

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By Michael Havis / Published 18th November 2015

Ibrahim Abdeslam, who blew himself up at a French cafe on Friday, owned a bar in Belgium that was closed two weeks ago after becoming a haunt for junkies.

And his younger brother Salah – now on the run as Europe's most-wanted man – managed the boozer, Les Beguines, before joining the ISIS attack on Paris ...

One of those who knew them, 25-year-old Hachim, said: "They smoked. They didn't go to the mosque or anything. We saw them every day at the cafe" ...

Another neighbour told the Telegraph: "We would go there to smoke hashish, drink alcohol, no problem" ...

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/476153/Paris-attacks-terrorists-drugs-Abdeslam-Ibrahim-Salah-Molenbeek-Belgium-Les-Beguines

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1. ... One witness who saw the attackers hinted to drug use after telling police that before the attack

on the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people were slaughtered, the men 'were like zombies' ...

Paris fugitive's brother urges him to hand himself

By MARTIN ROBINSON and SIMON TOMLINSON and PETER ALLEN and KATIE LOUISE DAVIES
PUBLISHED: 04:31 EST, 17 November 2015
UPDATED: 14:32 EST, 17 November 2015

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2. An ISIS Militant From Belgium Whose Own Family Wanted Him Dead

By ANDREW HIGGINS and KIMIKO DE FREYTAS-TAMURA
NOV. 17, 2015

... As a young man .. Mr. Abaaoud showed far more interest in thievery and drugs than Islam, particularly the highly disciplined, self-sacrificing Salafi strain favored by many militants ...

Mr. Abaaoud was arrested for petty crime in 2010 and spent time in the same prison in Brussels where Ibrahim Abdeslam was being held, according to the spokesman for Belgium’s federal prosecutor and Ibrahim’s former lawyer. It is not known if they were in touch while in the prison, but they did not stay long. After their release, they returned to Molenbeek, often hanging out at a dingy bar known as a hangout for drug dealers ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/world/europe/paris-attacks-abdelhamid-abaaoud-an-isis-militant-from-belgium-whose-own-family-wanted-him-dead.html?_r=0

[spanone]

3. K&R...

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4. A History of Petty Crimes and Missed Chances

By ANDREW HIGGINS, KIMIKO DE FREYTAS-TAMURA and KATRIN BENNHOLD
NOV. 16, 2015

... Ibrahim Abdeslam, the bar operator turned suicide bomber, was convicted of criminal activities as far back as 2010, and even stood trial for minor offenses with Mr. Abaaoud, according to a people briefed on information from the federal prosecutor’s office. The mayor of Molenbeek, Françoise Schepmans, said Mr. Abdeslam had been convicted of crimes involving drugs ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/world/europe/in-suspects-brussels-neighborhood-a-history-of-petty-crimes-and-missed-chances.html

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5. French police stopped Belgian suspect's car three times

PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO

... On the night of the attack in Paris, French police failed to capture Belgian Salah Abdeslam, believed to have played a central role in both planning and executing the Paris attacks, despite having stopped the car in which he was riding three times during a massive manhunt, Mr Xavier Carette, the driver's lawyer, said ...

Speaking to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, Mr Carette said his client, Mohammed Amri, suspected nothing when his friend Abdeslam, 26, called two hours after the attacks for a ride to Brussels and said his car had broken down.

Amri is in police custody; Abdeslam remains at large.

"You know, when you're on a car journey, you can talk about everything and nothing, listen to music, even smoke a joint, but at no time, no, they didn't talk about that," Mr Carette said of the massacre ...

http://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/paris-attacks-french-police-stopped-belgian-suspects-car-three-times-but-let-him-go

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6. Paris Attacks Suspect Salah Abdeslam Left Drugs Paraphernalia In Hotel Room

The Huffington Post UK
Sarah Ann Harris
Posted: 17/11/2015 15:43 GMT
Updated: 17/11/2015 15:59 GMT

A room rented by one of the Paris attackers was found to contain an assortment of drugs paraphernalia ... Salah Abdeslam, who French authorities are currently hunting, rented out two rooms at a hotel in the suburb of Alfortville ... Inside, officials found syringes and needles scattered on a table ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/11/17/paris-attackers-hotel-room-drugs_n_8582322.html

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7. Brahim Abdeslam's Path From Barkeeper To Paris Suicide Bomber

Posted: 11/16/2015 06:45 PM EST

... the bar the brothers ran had annoyed some of its neighbors and, in August, been raided by police.

Details posted on the door, on the ground floor of a typical brick-built 19th-century townhouse and confirmed by police to Reuters, stated: "The premises have been used for the consumption of banned hallucinogenic substances."

The notice ordered a five-month closure from Nov. 5, and said police found "a strong smell of drugs" and ashtrays containing "partially smoked joints," while a number of customers were found to be carrying drugs on their persons.

The notice said the manager had been given a chance, on Sept. 4, to object. "But he did not reply to our invitation" ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/brahim-abdeslam-paris-attacks_564a687de4b045bf3df092fd

[CBGLuthier]

8. So assassins were smoking hash. How etymological of them.

assassin: mid 16th century: from French, or from medieval Latin assassinus, from Arabic ḥašīšī ‘hashish-eater’.

[valerief]

9. Well, praise Jeebus they had access to all the AK-47s they could want, cuz

guns save lives.

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10. It's difficult to find a responsible jihadi these days

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11. ISIS fighters are generally high on drugs, Captagon

What exactly is ‘Captagon’, the drug of choice for Isis fighters?

Matt PaytonMatt Payton for Metro.co.uk - Monday 19 Oct 2015 8:27 pm

Isis fighters in Syria have been using an amphetamine called ‘Captagon’ to stay alert in battle – a drug unknown outside the Middle East.

Made out of easily available legal substances, this drug was first created in the sixties to treat hyperactivity, narcolepsy and depression but was banned in eighties for being too addictive.

While cheap to make, it has a street value of $20 (£12.90) and revenues from its sale reaches into the millions of dollars – part of which is believed to be used by the Islamic State and other militia groups in Syria to buy weapons.

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2015/10/19/what-exactly-is-captagon-the-drug-of-choice-for-isis-fighters-5449606/#ixzz3rovRA9BG