Mother of Paris attacker Bilal Hadfi proud her son only killed himself in attack

The mother of the youngest of the Paris attackers, who blew himself up outside France’s national stadium, says she is “proud” that her son killed no one but himself.

A woman identified as Fatima Hadfi called Maghreb TV, a Belgian network with wide viewership among the country’s Moroccan community.

On air, she said she had no idea her son, Bilal, was radicalised until he called from Syria — instead of from Morocco where he had told her he was going to for a break.

She said Islamic extremists took advantage of her 20-year-old son after he grew disaffected by discrimination in Belgium.

After the November 13 attacks, which left 130 dead and hundreds injured, she said she visited the site near the stadium where her son detonated a suicide vest.

“You could not see anything (different) with him. He was like everybody else,” Fatima Hadfi said, speaking mostly in French.

“He was a good boy, friendly and helpful but despite all that, they knew how to get around him.”

Asked what role her son had played in the attacks, she said: “I have no idea at all.”

Hadfi told Maghreb TV she was aware people would not believe her that she did not notice changes in her son’s personality.

“I have said that to myself. I should have listened more closely, I should have been closer to my children,” she said.