Jewish Museum Attacker Fought for al-Qaeda in Syria

French Citizen Arrested With Assault Rifle

French police have arrested 29-year-old Mehdi Nemmouche today in Marseille on suspicion of being the attacker in last weekend’s shootings at the Jewish museum in Brussels.

Nemmouche, a French citizen, was arrested with an assault rifle, and reportedly confessed to the Brussels attack. The big eye-opener, however, is that he had recently returned from Syria.

Nemmouche is one of thousands of Westerners who went to Syria to join jihadist rebel factions, and reportedly fought with al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) while in Syria. France estimates 700 of its citizens alone have fought in Syria.

The attacker’s back-story puts a face to growing fears among European security officials that jihad-enthusiasts who go to fight in Syria will return with an eye on conducting high-profile attacks within the EU.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.