Not realize that these people were time bombs. Narrator and why europe remains so vulnerable. Theres every reason to expect that well see isis lash out while its under pressure in syria and iraq to maintain its relevance. Narrator tonight on frontlinterror in europe. Frontlinis made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. And by the corporation for public broadcasting. Major support for frontliis provided by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information is available at macfound. Org. Additional support is provided by the park foundation, dedicated to heightening Public Awareness of critical issues. The john and Helen Glessner family trust, supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. The wyncote foundation. And by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. And Additional Support from Joseph Azrack and abigail congdon. translated for many years, terrorism was something hypothetical, something that happened elsewhere. But at a certain point, you have to open your eyes. How did we not see this coming . Narrator in early 2015, Belgian Police, with the help of u. S. And french intelligence, were preparing to launch a raid on a terrorist cell thought to be on the verge of an attack. The suspects were hiding out in the town of verviers. speaking french translated they were clearly in contact with people who could have turned them in. But nobody did. These people were extremely careful, they never left the apartment. We knew we would face determined men. They had weapons, they had explosives. gunfire narrator when belgian commandos stormed the hideout, they came under heavy fire. shouting and gunfire they shot two men dead and wounded another. Investigators found explosives, fake ids, and police uniforms. translated we discovered they had connections to syria, to isis. We quickly realized this was the start of a Campaign Across europe. We thought this could be the beginning of a new era. Unfortunately, we were right. Narrator since january 2015, an unprecedented wave of terror attacks has overwhelmed europes defenses. gunfire man shouting that month, attacks against Charlie Hebdo magazine and a jewish supermarket in paris left 17 people dead. gunfire on november 13th in paris, isis attacked multiple targets, killing 130 people. Four months later. Suicide bombings killed 32 in brussels. Propublireporter Sebastian Rotella has been covering terrorism for two decades. Years before the attacks, he was already reporting on some of the jihadists who would go on to strike europe, and the counterterror officials trying to stop them. In this film, he sits down with the men and women on the inside of the fight against al qaeda and isis. They reveal the missteps and systemic breakdowns that allowed known terrorists to hit the heart of europe, how the problems persist today, and the unprecedented threat the continent faces. translated its a disaster. Why were they not monitored and stopped . These people were time bombs. These individuals were on the radar, they had traveled to syria, they were known to Law Enforcement intelligence officials. No system is perfect. And we live in a free world. How much of your freedom do you want to sacrifice for your security . gunfire, explosion translated the november 13th attacks should never have happened. The brusslls attacks should never have happened. The system has completely failed. Narrator in 2003, french intelligence began monitoring a group of islamic radicals who lived near the butteschaumont park in northeast paris. They were young, untrained and inexperienced. But one member of this gang would ultimately carry out the Charlie Hebdo attacks, 12 years later. Cherif kouachi was a petty criminal and aspiring rapper. The son of algerian immigrants, hed grown up in an orphanage after his parents died. When he was 21, kouachi was radicalized by the u. S. Invasion of iraq and joined the extremists of the Buttes Chaumont gang. They were plotting to go to iraq and kill americans. translated it was a small group of people, young men, not particularly religious. Most of them criminals, drug dealers, robbers. They were seduced by talk of supporting the muslim community. Narrator Louis Caprioli was then the counterterror chief of french Domestic Intelligence. Rotella first met him while reporting on the butteschaumont gang. translated french Domestic Intelligence and the police were watching that group. In january 2005, the authorities began to dismantle the network. Cherif kouachi was arrested as he was about to board a plane to go to iraq and fight. Narrator kouachi was sent to fleurymerogis prison to await trial. While he was locked up, his extremist connections only deepened. The prison was a hotbed of jihadism dominated by al qaeda veterans. Kouachi became friends with another radicalized criminal who would ultimately join him in his terrorist project Amedy Coulibaly. translated they could communicate with each other. It was totally porous. It was disturbingly easy to form connections. So they expanded their network and became worse than when they arrived in prison. Narrator Marc Trevidic was a top counterterror prosecutor and judge who investigated kouachis network. He says the french judicial system was not set up to deal with the longterm threat they posed. translated that was our tragedy, in a way. We thought that if there are no attacks on french soil, then the antiterrorist system is working correctly, therefore everything is fine. In fact, nothing was fine. These may have been terrorists linked to al qaeda, but they were seen as people who were leaving the country to fight. So they werent seen as a direct threat against us. Narrator as the gang had not carried out an actual attack, french law dictated that they be tried in a lowlevel court alongside robbers and drug dealers, where the maximum sentence was only ten years. In 2008, kouachi was convicted of recruiting fighters to go to iraq and attempting to join al qaeda. His sentence was three years, with 18 months suspended. The contrast between the way european nations deal with terrorism from a criminal perspective and the United States is quite stark. Narrator matt olsen led the u. S. National Counterterrorism Center between 2011 and 2014; before that he was a prosecutor and the nsas chief lawyer. Rotella what would the sentence be for somebody like that in the u. S. . Hypothetically, someone like kouachi with that charge would be looking at far in excess of 15 years, the conspiracy to provide support to a terrorism group. And the important thing there is that 15 years, for somebody whos in their mid20s or their 30s, you know, that brings them into their 40s or mid40s, and the hope is that by the time theyre released, theyre not interested or too old to really be involved. Narrator kouachi wasnt alone. Amedy coulibaly served only three years for his involvement in a plot to help a convicted terrorist escape from prison. No one else in the Buttes Chaumont crew served more than seven years, even dangerous fighters who saw combat in iraq. Today several are active terrorists. translated the judges did not realize that these people were time bombs. They didnt rightly assess their truly dangerous nature. Consequently, they were given light sentences, perhaps to try to reintegrate them into society. translated we were mistaken in our assessment of quite a lot of people who we thought were less dangerous than they actually were. From the moment they stepped out of prison they left with an even greater hatred towards france than before. We only increased their wish for revenge and their determination to hurt us. Narrator having already spent 20 months in prison awaiting his trial, kouachi left court a free man. By this time, Louis Caprioli had retired. Rotella for a Police Officer like you, who has worked to put these people in jail, how does that make you feel . translated it is a feeling of failure. A feeling of failure as we are perfectly aware that these people have not been removed from the action, and that they will come back even more dangerous. Narrator in the years following his release, kouachi was investigated again for suspected terrorist activity, but never convicted. In 2011, he took advantage of a fatal flaw in europes counterterror defenses weak border control. Concealing his identity by using his brothers passport, he left france and traveled to yemen to join al qaeda. Rotella here you have a convicted terrorist who is able to leave the country, go to a dangerous part of the world, a terrorist haven, without being detected. Hows that possible . Well, absolutely, so somebody should not be able to Cross International borders whos been convicted of a terrorism offense and whos seeking to travel to a place like yemen. Here in the United States after 9 11, we established a single watch list for known or suspected terrorists the nofly list. In europe, theres not one single watch list for europe. They have not developed a way to effectively stop somebody from traveling, even though in this case, the individual was convicted of terrorist offenses. Narrator for more than a decade, counterterror chiefs have proposed laws to improve border defenses, such as giving European Security forces systematic access to data that airlines collect about all passengers on the continent. U. S. Border guards have used this tool, known as passenger name record, or pnr, for 15 years. But european politicians, concerned about privacy and Data Protection, repeatedly rejected pnr legislation. Madam president of the council, read my lips Data Protection directive. We have, you know, maybe a different privacy mindset in certain countries in europe compared to the u. S. It depends on the different cultural historical political backgrounds of each country, and they are different. Narrator Rob Wainwright is the director of europol, the agency tasked with coordinating Law Enforcement across the 28 countries of the European Union. The privacysecurity trade off still goes back, i think, to the legacy from the Second World War where, you know, german and austrian citizens are concerned about never again shall we arrive at a position where the state can have so much authority that they can collect unlimited amounts of personal data about their citizens. And for good reason, actually. Narrator but, counterterror chiefs say despite the concerns, pnr would help them intercept suspected terrorists. translated european legislators have rejected passenger name record. Why . Because they see it is a violation of liberties. That is a mistake. Its a flaw of our monitoring system, the way people can circulate in and out of europe. Narrator in yemen, Cherif Kouachi met up with an old friend from the butteschaumont gang. Peter cherif had himself absconded from france while on trial for terrorism charges and was now a fighter for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, which was being monitored intensively by the u. S. The meeting that occurs in the summer of 2011, thats sort of the Worst Nightmare for Intelligence Services. Because any time that al qaeda had access to someone from a western european country like france, they would try to operationalize that person, that person could give them insights about western culture, help them develop plans to carry out attacks. Narrator peter cherif arranged for al qaeda to give kouachi terror training and money 20,000, according to u. S. Intelligence. A plot began to take shape. translated during that time, they come up with the idea of avenging the Prophet Muhammad and of attacking people who publish caricatures of the prophet. And specifically in france, Charlie Hebdo. Narrator after three weeks in yemen, Cherif Kouachi returned to france undetected. He and his brother said now became an al qaeda sleeper cell. U. S. Intelligence learned that one of the kouachis had visited yemen, and alerted the french, who started monitoring them. But they discovered nothing of the Charlie Hebdo plot. Surveillance resources were already stretched, and the number of european extremists was about to surge. explosion narrator in 2012, the war in syria dramatically changed the European Security landscape. shouting it spawned a new jihadist movement, isis, which set out to be even more brutal than al qaeda. In 2014, the group formally split from al qaeda and declared a caliphate, or Islamic State, and summoned all muslims to join them. speaking spanish translated and the effect of that call is brutal. Its. Well, extraordinary. Our investigations multiplied extraordinarily. Narrator Dolores Delgado is the chief counterterror prosecutor of spains high court. As spains liaison to france and belgium, she worked closely with her european counterparts to monitor the exploding numbers of isis recruits. translated there was a call for young people, a call for women, a call for children, and its not to travel to the sahel, or waziristan. Its to go to syria. And syria is right next door. Going to syria is very cheap. And its very easy. Narrator thousands of young european muslims joined up. Unlike recruits to al qaeda, aspiring isis militants often knew little about islam. translated it was open bar anyone who wanted to join the Islamic State could do so. It was well known that al qaeda had created filters; you had to show you were trustworthy, there were a series of tests and an apprenticeship. It was not all that easy. In this case, anyone can join. Even crazy people, very violent people, petty criminals. I even saw young people who were not yet radicalized going to syria. It was just a trend, a need to have fun and escape their boring lives. Id never experienced anything like it before. Narrator one country, belgium, provided more isis militants for its size than any other in europe. Among them was a petty criminal named abdelhamid abaaoud. The son of a shopkeeper from brussels, abaaoud had spent time in prison for assault and minor crimes. As isis was emerging in syria, abaaoud began to draw on his criminal network to recruit volunteers to the cause. translated abaaoud had a particular profile, which allowed him to recruit a whole network that obeyed him. Narrator Alain Grignard is a senior counterterror officer with the belgian federal police, an expert in islamic extremism who speaks fluent arabic. His agency started tracking abaaouds network in 2013. translated i think these recruits obeyed him not only for ideological reasons, but also because he was a ringleader, because they had gone to school together, because they were friends or family, a lot of connections that are difficult to assess when youre not inside these circles. Narrator many of abaaouds recruits came from a single brussels neighborhood molenbeek, the countrys secondpoorest district, with a Large Population of unemployed young people. translated molenbeek is a neighborhood where there are lot of immigrants, a lot of petty crime, and a whole series of networks that wont snitch on each other, whether Armed Robbers or terrorists. They might be frowned upon, but no one will turn them in. Because people went to school or prison with them, or because people believe in the cause, or they are afraid. In the end there are many reasons why no one is reported. Narrator abaaoud was able to recruit his team with little interference from Belgian Security forces. For years, police and Intelligence Services in belgium have been hampered by limited budgets, bureaucratic infighting, and weak laws for crime and terrorism. One of abaaouds crew was a robber who had shot and wounded a Police Officer with an ak47. But he served only four years in prison. Fundamentally some of the laws in belgium seem quite out of date. The counterterrorism infrastructure, as much as there are individuals with a great deal of experience, the infrastructure is not there in the laws and policies to support the type of response thats needed to take on the level of threat we see now. Narrator abaaoud left belgium to join isis in 2013. Others from his molenbeek crew soon followed. In syria, abaaoud embraced the Islamic States culture of extreme violence. Allahu akbar shouting narrator then, in august 2014, western powers began to bomb isis strongholds. translated from the moment the coalition started bombing the Islamic State, in august 2014, things changed of course. Isis developed a logic of revenge, which intensified along with the bombardments. shouting this meant that the people who wanted to launch actions in europe gained in authority. Narrator in late 2014, isis began to create an external operations unit. It developed a plan for a campaign of revenge attacks against europe. The unit would deploy as many as 200 terrorist operatives to launch attacks in their home countries. At the same time, hundreds more fighters were returning to europe without specific terrorist missions, and hundreds of europeans had been radicalized at home without visiting syria. Any one of them could have posed a threat. You know, 5,000 european nationals that have gone out to syria and iraq, we dont know exactly how many have come back, we kind of figure around a third of that, so, you know, 1,500 or more. So its extremely difficult, i think, to get it right in terms of who do we monitor and how do we monitor them. Because we dont have the resources or indeed the culture in our society to put 24 7 surveillance on thousands of citizens every day. Narrator to make matters worse, the 28 countries of the European Union are often wary about sharing intelligence with each other. translated the protection of sources and methods makes it difficult to share intelligence. When you see the difficulty we have in europe coming to agreement on basic subjects, its even harder when it comes to intelligence sharing. Narrator as more and more isis recruits returned to europe, the authorities in france and belgium were overwhelmed. translated every week people would come back from syria, there was nothing except syria; it was all about syria. There were so many cases related to syria that people who should have been watched just could not be. Cleary we cant do everything, and we didnt have the means we still dont to monitor all of this. translated that brings up the issue of having to make choices. That is, among all the possibilities of targets to monitor, thousands of targets to monitor, its necessary to make choices. Narrator in june 2014, french spy chiefs made a fateful decision. For the last three years, they had been monitoring al qaeda veterans of the butteschaumont gang Cherif Kouachi, and his brother said. Meanwhile, kouachis old associate Amedy Coulibaly had just been released from prison. French Domestic Intelligence now decided to stop watching them and shift surveillance resources onto the growing threat from isis. translated for more than three years the surveillance and wiretappings had yielded nothing, so it was stopped at that time. This was mid2014, which means that for six months, the services didnt know what the kouachi brothers were up to, and didnt know about the alliance they developed with Amedy Coulibaly, who had never been monitored since he stepped out of prison. man shouting gunfire breaking news out of france. The French Police right now are hunting for masked gunmen who stormed the offices of the satirical newspaper, opened fire in the french capital today. At least 12 people are dead, four others are in critical condition. translated Charlie Hebdo was a turning point. The concept of attacking in the heart of europe was a new expression of terrorism. We realized that it was now a reality. Narrator 12 people were shot dead in tCharlie Hebdo attacks. Within hours, the names of the killers surfaced. For the former counterterror chief Louis Caprioli, it was unsettling news. translated it quickly became known it was the kouachis. That rang a bell immediately. I thought, yes, these are the people from 2005. So immediately i thought that there might have been a failure somewhere. When an attack happens and you had no prior intelligence, thats one thing. But when you find out that you could have prevented it, that is a tragedy. Narrator after a massive manhunt, the kouachi brothers were killed in a shootout with French Police. gunfire they declared allegiance to al qaeda shortly before they died. That same day, their friend Amedy Coulibaly carried out his part of the plot, shooting four people dead in a jewish supermarket before being killed by a swat team. Although he had been radicalized by al qaeda, he claimed allegiance to isis. translated i was surprised. At first i couldnt understand this alliance between coulibaly from isis. And kouachi of al qaeda. How was the association between al qaeda and isis even possible . I realized its simply a question of relationships. Its just that they knew each other. Personal connections sometimes go beyond a groups strategy. They may fight each other in syria, but can still do things together in france. Narrator as france reeled from the Charlie Hebdo attacks, another plot was being uncovered across the border in belgium. shouting, gunfire on the 15th of january, Belgian Police raided a house in the town of verviers, killing two terrorist suspects and wounding one. U. S. And french spy agencies had helped track their return from syria. Investigators found evidence that they were part of an isis cell deployed by the young belgian extremist abdelhamid abaaoud. Because of the verviers case, abaaoud came very clearly in the picture. Narrator eric van der sypt is a belgian counterterror prosecutor. We realized that he was active in the recruitment of people from france, from belgium and he trained them, and he was responsible for sending back people to western europe also. People that want to die, theyre not afraid to die, and theyre not afraid to kill other people while doing so. Narrator abaaoud now became the subject of an international manhunt. European and u. S. Intelligence detected his cell phone in athens, but by the time greek police raided his safe house, he had already fled. It was the first of what would be several missed opportunities to capture him. Abaaoud disappeared, and its a pity we lost him because we knew who he was, what he was doing, and sure, we would have loved to have captured him, its a sure thing, but he got away. He managed to escape, and he managed to go back to syria. Narrator over the next few months, isis sent a series of le operatives to attack europe authorities suspected abaaoud was involved. Then in june 2015, spanish counterterror officials made a breakthrough. With the help of u. S. Intelligence, they detected an alleged isis fighter, who had just returned to europe from syria via poland. The poles arrested and questioned him, along with spanish investigators. His name was abdeljail ait el kaid. translated a character like el kaid being arrested generated huge expectation from our colleagues in other countries. The whole world wanted to know what el kaid was going to tell us. Narrator ait el kaid admitted hed been sent to europe to commit an attack. translated and the one organizing it all was abaaoud. He was the brains and the organizer of this brigade, Whose Mission was to come back to europe and commit attacks here on european soil. Well, from my point of view, we had prevented an attack. Weve had someone in front of us who was with abaaoud, who was trained by him, who was chosen by him, and now he was in prison. And well, thats very satisfying. I cant say it any other way. Narrator ait el kaid gave up the name of another suspected operative sent by abaaoud to hit european targets. In august, the man was arrested by French Police when he returned from syria. His name was reda hame. Marc trevidic, who was weeks away from the end of his term as a counterterror magistrate now questioned hame. translated to begin with, he said he had a terrorist mission. The general idea was to shoot a crowd, to shoot people, and his mission was to do so during a rock concert. But the target was only to be given to him later on. There was the idea that, you go back to france, and we will contact you with encrypted messages. Thats how we will operate. He surprised me especially when he explained how much abaaoud wanted to hurt us. He was very clear, he will do whatever it takes, he wanted to commit a huge attack at all costs. It was quite chilling. Narrator on august 21, just one week later, the warnings were confirmed. A heavily armed man, ayoub el khazzani, opened fire on a highspeed train between amsterdam and paris. The gunman was overpowered by three american tourists, and no one was killed. A year earlier, spanish authorities had actually warned their french counterparts about khazzani, who theyd tracked from spain to france. But investigators believe he eventually made his way to syria, where he was allegedly trained and sent back to europe by abaaoud. translated i had the feeling that these were warning signs, that in fact they were just gaining ground, carrying out smaller operations while they were organizing something bigger. Because any terrorist attack occupies all of our investigators, as there is so much work after an attack. All of this was intended to conceal the bigger plot. Narrator abaaoud was now wanted across the continent. translated but we had no idea where abaaoud could be. Apparently no one knew where he was. According to reda hame, he was in raqqa, but we had no way of locating him. Narrator in fact, by september, abaaoud was already back in europe laying the groundwork for the most ambitious plot yet. Investigators say he slipped in through greece with the help of smugglers. Policing of europes external borders is left largely to individual nations, whose budgets and capabilities vary. translated so theres a gap, an abyss, and all the terrorists can rush in and easily circulate between europe, france, turkey, and of course syria and iraq. I believe its one of the flaws of the European Union it has never been able to ensure the protection of our borders. translated it is completely porous. We are in a totally open system. They can use real papers, real fake papers, fake fake papers, real real papers. Its horrible, but thats how it is. Narrator abaaoud then took advantage of europes open internal borders to travel freely from country to country. translated there are just no borders. There are none, clearly they do not exist. Although we are under a state of emergency. There are none. We are not an island, we are on the european continent and the enemy is at our doorstep. He can come from either side by sea, air, and land. That is the reality. Narrator as the war in syria intensified in 2015, germany declared it would welcome all refugees fleeing the conflict. Hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants flooded into europe, but there was no comprehensive system to vet them. Most came in through greece, which was overwhelmed, and it could only thoroughly screen about a third of the arrivals. Counterterror chiefs say they warned about terrorists exploiting this opportunity. translated this is the nightmare; this is the problem. Isis claims to have infiltrated many hundreds of fighters thats taken from their propaganda. Narrator jeanlouis bruguiere was a top french counterterrorism judge for more than two decades. He says the migrant crisis exposed the dysfunction of the European Unions approach to security. translated there was no coordinated european policy. Germany was playing alone. France did not agree; no other country agreed on this. So on important, strategic subjects that affect the whole of europe, europes security, we have difficulty in finding a consensus. To be fair, at the time, the sort of mood within germany, the mood around many countries in europe was one of, were living through a great humanitarian tragedy. These desperately poor afflicted people needed a place of refuge, and it was europes job to provide that. Now were saying, you know, theres been some dreadful terrorist attacks and on reflection maybe that wasnt the right thing to do. Well, you know, thats a little harsh. Narrator abaaoud now used the chaos of the refugee flow to get a team of militants into and around europe. Two of the team entered europe with refugees on the island of leros. One used a stolen syrian passport flagged by interpol as possibly being used by terrorists. But greek authorities werent checking interpols database regularly, and the men were let through. Bombmaker Najim Laachraoui and one of the leaders of the cell, mohamed belkaid, are also thought to have entered europe through greece. They both had false belgian identity papers. Its a tool they used. I think they used the fact that there were a lot of refugees at that time over there so they could blend in, to stay anonymous. men shouting narrator on september 9, laachraoui and belkaid were met at the budapest train station, then packed with refugees, by another suspected member of the cell salah abdeslam. Hours later, Police Stopped their mercedes at the austriahungary border. They were known extremists. One was wanted on a terrorism warrant. One was on an eu watch list. But the police didnt spot anything suspicious during questioning or in their databases, and the car was waved on. Rotella why were they let through without further investigation . Its very easy after the event to say, well, we should have got this guy because he was on the record. Were dealing with, you know, 20plus countries in europe sharing a different set of Information Systems, not all of them sort of interconnected, not all of them holding sensitive terrorist data. Not all the intelligence is shared with all of the partners on all of the systems at the same time, and we have a challenge, i think, in europe where we have different Information Systems in different parts, in different countries, but also in different parts of the eu architecture that are not hooked up. Narrator by the end of october, abaaoud had everything in place weapons, explosives, targets and the men to hit them. translated the question everyone had was not if something would happen, but rather when and where. gunfire were coming on the air to tell you about a situation unfolding right now in paris, where there have been a number of apparent attacks. Are dead in multiple attacks across the french capital. There were at least six shootings in various locations. And at this moment, police are storming a concert hall. translated you can imagine how i felt after all the years i had spent in the antiterrorist section as i got home on the 13th of november and heard about the bataclan. I immediately thought of reda hame and the rock concert, and at that moment, you think, bleep i remember saying to myself, i hope there is not a belgian connection. And i was proven wrong the following hours already, and the belgian connection, if i may call it like that, was soon very, very clear. translated we started to understand that the belgians are involved, and suddenly abaaouds name resurfaces. Abaaoud, whom wed been looking for for months, and who we believed was still in syria. This was obviously a shock. But we also felt uneasy. How did we not see this coming . Our intelligence was maybe not as good as it should have been. Narrator 130 people were killed in the attacks. Most of the suspected plotters were already known to the authorities, and multiple opportunities to stop them had been missed. At least six were wanted on International Arrest warrants for terrorism. One was under Police Surveillance with wiretaps and a hidden camera. At least seven were on terrorist watch lists. At least 12 were stopped, questioned, and even arrested as they traveled around europe and back and forth to syria to prepare the paris plot. These individuals were on the radar. They had traveled to syria. They were known to Law Enforcement intelligence officials. Even with that information in the hands of intelligence and Law Enforcement, they were able to really carry out largescale, spectacular, catastrophicstyle attacks. Because Law Enforcement and Border Patrol officials from one country simply dont communicate with their counterparts in another country in a way that would make information that they possess actionable and really disrupt or stop a terrorist from moving across their border. Narrator the paris attacks were staged almost entirely from belgium. Thats where the bombs were made, where coordinators directed the attacks by phone. French security chiefs say the belgians should have done more to stop the plot. translated its not by chance that the whole network was based in belgium and not in france or italy. They chose a place that is both the weakest link, and where there were networks that existed for years. This group should have been detected. The signs were not small. They had a definite red flag. The belgium authorities did not detect the threat to paris. This is indisputably an example of a system which has completely failed. translated its a bit too easy for all these big countries with a lot of Police Officers and foreign Intelligence Services to criticize belgium. Were a small country. We dont have a police culture, we dont have our own foreign intelligence service. Its impossible to keep an eye on everyone. 24hour surveillance with just two people happens only in tv shows. So this means we can only watch a few individuals. People dont quite realize this. Narrator five days after the attacks, abaaoud was tracked down to an apartment on the outskirts of paris. gunfire in the battle that followed, one of the plotters detonated a suicide vest. explosion abaaouds remains were identified two days later. But then investigators discovered that other suspected leaders of the cell were still on the loose. translated we realized that there were people in belgium who seemed more important than abaaoud. Through phone intercepts, we discovered that abaaoud asked for instructions or help from people in belgium. So we got to work on them. Narrator seven remaining suspects were holed up in safe houses back in their old neighborhoods in brussels, where they were working on a new plot. Unknown to belgian intelligence and the nsa, which was helping hunt the fugitives, the bomb maker, Najim Laachraoui, was in direct contact with a shadowy isis chief in syria known as abu ahmad. Abu ahmad avoided interception by using encrypted communicatios to give detailed orders and bombmaking instructions. The individuals were sharing information, they were getting instruction on how to make explosives from individuals in syria. The content of those communications were encrypted. Theres no technological way to intercept those communications. We have not solved this problem. This is a problem that is with us today. Narrator investigators say abu ahmad worked closely with another senior isis operate in syria known as abu sulaiyman al fransi. U. S. Counterterror officials believe he is a 26yearold moroccan immigrant who grew up in france, served in the French Foreign legion, and did prison time for drug dealing before joining isis. He is now suspected of playing a lead role in overseeing the paris and brussels plots. It shows a level of direction from isis, you know, that this is not simply an attack that was inspired by isis propaganda or online communication; this is an attack that was actually being directed at a degree of specificity by isis central, isis leadership. Narrator in march, after a fourmonth hunt, Belgian Police finally discovered a series of apartments rented using false identities and finally closed in on the cell. They shot dead one of the suspects and captured another salah abdeslam. But the bomb maker and others were hiding elsewhere. translated i thought we were reaching the end point and that there were only a few left. I have to admit that we had no idea there was still an operational unit in belgium. Breaking news right now to explosions rocking the main terminal at brussels airport. There are reports of another attack, an explosion at a subway, a metro station. We should underscore that this appears to be a coordinatedtype attack. Narrator 32 people died in the brussels bombings. Isis has vowed more attacks in europe even as they lose ground in syria and iraq. translated now we realize the extent of the phenomenon, that its no longer one, two, three dozen individuals, but there are thousands of people in syria and iraq who are ready to die, and that there are thousands here in europe who are also ready to die. The human and technical means in our possession are not proportionate. We wont be able to control, monitor, and wiretap everyone, so at one point, its evident that people will be able to attack us. Narrator in response, european leaders have set up a new Counterterrorism Center and recently approved the passenger name record to bolster Border Security across the continent. But the threat has worsened a political crisis for the europen union. In june, the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the eu. Other countries are considering doing the same. The counterterror chiefs say the systemic problems remain and europe is as vulnerable as ever. translated november 13th should never have happened. The brussels attacks should never have happened. The flaws in the european system are multiple. Theyre institutional. Im not sure what were waiting for. Do we have to wait for hundreds more deaths . translated the situation has never been worse, but i think its an illusion to believe well be able to protect ourselves and live in a sort of bubble. Everyone dreams of a society with zero risks, but the zero risk option does not exist. Go to pbs. Org frontline for more of our partner, propublicas reporting on terror in europe. Rotella why were they let through without further investigation . They have not developed a way to effectively stop somebody from traveling. And explore frontlines reg on confronting the isis threat. Visit our watch page, where you can stream more than 200 frontline documentaries. Connect to thfrontline community on facebook and twitter. Then sign up for our newsletter at pbs. Org frontline. I am transgender, but i like to say that im a girl stuck in a boys body. Narrator a story about change. Cross hormones, i can get a deep voice, i can get a beard, i can get a flat chest. Narrator family. I feel in a sense like somethings been robbed, right . My daughters gone. Narrator and what its like. Now im actually me. Narrator growing up trans. Frontlinis made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. And by the corporation for public broadcasting. Major support for frontliis provided by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information is available at macfound. Org. Additional support is provided by the park foundation, dedicated to heightening Public Awareness of critical issues. The john and Helen Glessner family trust, supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. The wyncote foundation. And by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. And Additional Support from Joseph Azrack and abigail congdon. Captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org for more on this and other frontline programs, visit our website at pbs. Org frontline. Frontlineterror in europe is available on dvd. To order, visit shoppbs. Org. Or ca1800playpbs. Frontline is also available for download on itunes. The faces you know the news you rely on, anytime you want anywhere you are. Man i really value pbss News Coverage because i think its very rigorous journalism woman clear and concise reporting man both thoughtful and thought provoking woman mind blowingly honest and open woman information that will help me make a good decision with so much at stake, this Election Year one place has the news you need to decide pbs man we are living in a monster state and we needed an alternative. Man if something illegal, people want it more and more. Man you were not supposed to bring this stuff into the country. Man this was very dangerous for people who sold it it was prohibited. Man they have alienated a whole generation of young, welleducated, urban soviet kids from their communist motherland. In the soviet union, official propaganda was one thing, but real life was totally different. Announcer its the beatles [ playing some other guy ]
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