tasked to launch an attack against the 18th arrondissement. one of abdeslam s brothers says he believed that abdeslam changed his mind at the last minute and decided never to go through with the attack. but it still points to fabien clain s advanced knowledge of the attack. sources believe that clain was a ringleader, directing the attacks with precision. he has significant relationships with the attackers. we also know he has longtime relationships with various people who have committed attacks in belgium and also in france. european counterterror officials believe that clain worked together with abdelhamid abaaoud not only on the paris attacks but also on a high speed shooting on a train going from belgium to france in august, interrupted by three americans. and police believe that clain was the mastermind on an attack, the plot failed when the
speech pointing out that he thought aqap was in his words the most concerning al qaeda element in terms of a threat to the homeland. and that raised a lot of eyebrows because everyone s thinking isis is top of mind. reporter: they re not mutually exclusive. i was meeting with a european counterterror official this morning. they have the same view. aqap is arguably the more capable terror threat. they still aim for the mass casualty attacks, aqap is intent on getting a bomb on an airliner. that s the kind of thing they re focused on. isis is more the small board kind of attack. they ve told their supporters something that al qaeda in the past have avoided. any way you can attack, go for it. if you get a knife, snap someone. if you get a gun, shoot someone. so i speak to u.s. counterterror officials and europeans they say they re both threats. isis more likely just because it s a much lower bar, much easier to carry out the kind of attacks they re looking for.