Terror Ringleader's Paris Death Raises Fear of Intelligence Failures

Story by NBC News
Written by F. Brinley Bruton and Henry Austin

The death in Paris of the suspected terror attack ringleader - a high-profile jihadi - prompted fears Thursday that a major intelligence breakdown may have allowed him to pursue his murderous plot.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, was killed during an explosive raid on an apartment in Saint-Denis, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. His body was riddled with bullet wounds and he was identified by his fingerprints, officials said Thursday as they announced his death.

Confirmation that Abaaoud was in Paris will put pressure on European security services. Until last week's massacre, he was widely assumed to be in Syria.

"This is a major failing," Roland Jaquard, at the International Observatory for Terrorism, told Reuters.

Even before last Friday's attacks, Abaaoud had emerged as Belgium's most notorious jihadist, a zealot so devoted to the cause of holy war that he recruited his 13-year-old brother to join him in Syria.

French officials have linked Abaaoud to at least four out of six foiled attacks this year.