Some Paris attackers were on US watch lists

(Baonghean.vn) - At least four Paris attackers were in the US intelligence anti-terrorism database, according to information from five US officials on November 19.

French special forces at the scene of a shooting in Saint-Denis, near Paris, on November 18, during a manhunt for fugitives after the Paris attacks on the night of November 13. Photo: Reuters.

At least one and likely several others responsible for the attack are also on the U.S. no-fly list, three of the officials said, although they did not provide specific numbers.

In a series of coordinated attacks in Paris on November 13, 129 people were killed and more than 300 others were injured. IS has claimed responsibility for the worst tragedy in France since World War II.

Four of the attackers previously named by France were listed in TIDE, a top-secret central repository of raw information maintained by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, U.S. officials said. They did not name the people listed in TIDE.

Last year, an NCTC report said that as of December 2013, TIDE contained information on “approximately 1.1 million individuals,” many of whom “go by multiple names.”

It is understood that US intelligence and law enforcement agencies have screened and selected names for inclusion on the TIDE list.

The report said about 25,000 Americans were in the database. However, officials said the Paris attackers were not U.S. citizens or residents, and their identities were included in the database after European officials shared intelligence with the United States.

Another US government unit, the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), which is under the control of the FBI, maintains a number of classified databases, including a main list of suspects known as the Terrorist Screening Database and two smaller lists, the “screening list” and the “no-fly list.”

These lists are selective versions of TIDE, and classified intelligence data has been removed. Airlines operating in the United States are required to submit passenger lists to the TSC before each flight for review.

Terrorist Screening Center spokesman Dave Joly said the agency does not publicly confirm or deny whether an individual is on its watch lists because doing so “would significantly impact the government’s ability to investigate, respond to terrorism, and protect transportation security.”

Thu Giang

(According to Reuters)