France air strikes in Syria ‘anticipated Paris attack’

France started air strikes in Syria last year because of concerns months before the Paris attacks that the ringleader was plotting to target a concert and take hostages, a French newspaper has reported.

Citing French and Belgian intelligence material and police recordings, Le Parisien lists repeated occasions when authorities allegedly failed to catch Abdelhamid Abaaoud, even though he had been considered a major threat by several European intelligence services before the attacks on November 13.

Abaaoud was killed in a police raid five days after the attack by Islamic State (IS) suicide bombers. Most of the 130 killed in the attack were hostages in the Bataclan concert hall.