Paris mastermind believed to be Belgian in Syria

French investigators have identified the mastermind behind the Paris attacks which killed 129 people on Friday as Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, who is currently in Syria, a source close to the investigation revealed.

Abaaoud is believed to be one of the most active members of Daesh who has persuaded thousands of young people to join the group in Syria, including his teenage brother Younes, 16, the source told Reuters.

RTL radio reported that Abaaoud is from the Brussels district of Molenbeek where the eight members of the radical Islamist cell that carried out the attacks live.

In February, Abaaoud was featured in the Daesh online magazine, Dabiq, boasting that he travelled across Europe without being detected by the security forces to organise attacks and purchase weapons.