Disposable phones and no emails: Police report shows how the Paris attacks were planned

The arrest on Friday of Salah Abdeslam, who is suspected to have been the head of logistics for the Paris terror attacks last year offers French and Belgian investigators the opportunity to gather new information about how the atrocity was planned and carried out.

For months, police have been criticised for not being able to the prevent the attacks and failing to stop the expansion of what is now suspected to be a web of ISIS sleeper cells spread throughout continental Europe.

The Paris attacks, which killed 130 people and injured hundreds more, shocked the world as it struck the heart of Europe and showed the reach and organisation of ISIS (also known as the Islamic State, Daesh or ISIL).

Most of what is known about the attacks is contained in a 55-page report from French anti-terrorism police. The New York Times obtained a copy of the report, which shows the attackers and those who aided them knew how to exploit the European border system, how to make a certain type of bombs, and how to overwhelm the police.

The New York Times article suggests that questions about the number of people involved, how many were trained in Syria, and what kind of encryption the terrorists used to hide their communications remain unanswered.

With the Paris attacks, ISIS moved away from its usual types of targets, such as security establishments and places with links to Israel. But, according to the New York Times, in one of the group's online magazine, a senior ISIS member advises against picking specific targets and to instead "Hit everyone and everything."

In January, Europol, the EU's law-enforcement agency, announced the launch of a Europe-wide "Counter Terrorism Centre," which was created in response to the attacks in Paris and aims to improve information sharing between security forces of all European countries.

The scope of the failure of European security forces and the need for them to work together became clear when it was revealed that at least three of the attackers were wanted on international warrants, but were able to travel between Europe and the Middle East.

Alain Chouet, a former head of French intelligence, told the New York Times: "We don't share information. We even didn't agree on the translations of people's names that are in Arabic or Cyrillic, so if someone comes into Europe through Estonia or Denmark, maybe that's not how we register them in France or Spain."

Increasingly well-organised attacks

The report shows how well-prepared the terrorists were and that they knew to combine three attacks (suicide bombers at the State de France stadium and in cafes, shootings around Paris, and hostage-taking) to stretch the emergency services.

The explosive used by one of the suicide bombers was a peroxide-based device, which has become the staple explosives for ISIS attacks. The bomb is made with products easily available, like hair bleach and nail varnish remover, but is quite hard to assemble which shows those involved had received training.

But it is the attack on the Bataclan theatre, especially, which shows the attackers' level of planning. Two gunmen entered the hall through the main entrance and opened fire onto the concert goers, who then tried to flee through the emergency exit where the third gunman was waiting.

Another detail from the report shows how the Islamic State's members have refined their techniques. Hostages told police that the terrorists tried to use their phones to access the Internet (there was no data reception though) rather than calling and sending messages, which can be tracked by police.

The report states that no electronic communication or emails were found by investigators, leading police to conclude they used encrypted means of messaging, although they currently do not know what kind.

The attackers used disposable phones which they left behind everywhere they went, including some used only very shortly before the attacks. Records showed many calls made from the discarded devices were made to Belgium, where Abdeslam fled and was eventually captured.

According to witness statements, at some point during the hostage taking at the Bataclan, one of the gunmen who was wearing an explosive belt and holding a detonator in his hand, reportedly started playing the xylophone while laughing "sadistically." He was the first attacker shot by police, and when he was wounded, blew himself up.

The report said it took four elite brigades to stop the gunmen.

As of this weekend, 18 people have already been detained on suspicion of aiding the Paris attackers. Abdeslam is thought to be the last person alive to have been directly involved with the attacks, but France, Belgium, and Europe remain on high alert.

At the press conference announcing the capture of Abdeslam, French President François Hollande was very cautious not to let news of the capture be associated with any sense of finality, saying the operation "was not a conclusion," and that the fight against terrorism in Europe was ongoing.

Read the whole New York Times article here.