Mastermind of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, confirmed to be killed in a raid. Reuters.

A photo of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, which appeared in Dabiq, ISIS's digital magazine. 

The suspected mastermind of the Paris attack, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, has been confirmed to have been killed during a police raid. Reuters. The body had been identified by fingerprints. He was killed in a police raid that also resulted in the death of a woman who blew her self up with a suicide belt. A third person may have also died in the raid, but forensic specialists are not sure if it happened or not. Abaaoud was a famous recruiter for ISIS and often appeared in their digital magazine Dabiq. He claimed that he was able to escape from Belgium in 2013 after a police raid that killed two of his companions. He also took his younger brother with him, who was 13 years old at the time. Reactions to the attack continue, with France suggesting changes to the EU's free borders and Belgium dealing with the fact that many of the terrorists were based there. 

My Comment:

Sounds like Abaaoud was a major player in ISIS. He was very active in recruiting people and he planned this attack. Taking him out is a major victory against ISIS and France should be proud that they took him down. With Abaaoud dead and his network largely disrupted, the chances of a follow up attack in France are a lot less likely. 

And it sounds like he died a stupid death. The woman that was with him blew her self up after a French Police dog named Diesel. Other then a few injures, Diesel was the only death that the terrorists were able to cause. Considering the amount of firepower and explosives the terrorists had at their disposal, that is probably a disappointment for them. It also shows a lot of weakness on the terrorists part that they were so terrified of a police dog they didn't do the logical thing and shoot her. Instead the terrorist decided to detonate her explosive belt instead. I know Muslims consider dogs to be unclean, but that is a huge amount of overkill. Also, I consider Diesel to be a hero who's life was worth more then every single member of ISIS. EDIT: Turns out that Diesel was shot, and the woman who blew herself up did it before that happened. I regret the error. 

This is a massive setback for ISIS. The network that conducted this attack has been largely destroyed, with what is left being forced to scatter. Obviously, the members of this cell aren't likely to pull off a major attack when they are all running for their lives. But that doesn't mean there isn't still a threat. Other cells may be active in Europe. At this point I would be shocked if there wasn't. Belgium is a hotbed of terrorist activity. Other ISIS operatives, or members of other terrorist groups like al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) may be planning attacks right now. And there are probably networks in other countries, such as the UK and the Untied States that are threats as well. 

Of course, even though Abaaoud died an undignified and pointless death, his actions will still inspire others to act. Though there have been no follow up attacks by lone wolves so far, I am still expecting them to happen. After the Charlie Hebdo attacks, several attacks by lone wolves occurred. The attacks consisted of low impact knife, hatchet and occasionally gun attacks. Most of these accomplished very little or nothing at all, but they are still major threats. After all, even if all you have is a knife, it's possible to get lucky and kill a lot of people before you get taken down. 

I'm fully expecting another terror attack in Europe or the United States before the end of the year. It probably won't be on the scale as the attack on Paris or the bombing of the airliner in Egypt. A major, well coordinated attack like the one in Paris is certainly possible, but given the high security in Europe and the disruption of a major terror cell, I am thinking that a lone wolf attack is much more likely. In America, no terror groups have been disrupted and it's very possible that they could pull something off. ISIS is certainly threatening to do something and have released videos aimed at both New York and Washington DC. 

With ISIS grabbing all the headlines, it is easy to forget that they aren't the only terror group in town. Al-Qaeda is still in existence and in some ways I think the Paris attacks were in reaction to AQAP's successful attack on Charlie Hebdo attack. AQAP got most of the credit for that attack, even though ISIS was slightly involved, and I am guessing they wanted to one up them. With this new attack, AQAP may want to grab some headlines back from them. I expect that there is a possibility that they will attack as well. 

Either way though, it's been a great couple of weeks for ISIS in terms of propaganda. However, they are paying a huge price for their attacks. Russia and America has destroyed their oil infrastructure, which was a massive money maker for ISIS. They have other sources of income, such as selling artifacts, ransoming hostages, stealing, and taxes. But losing their oil income is a hell of a price to pay for their attacks. I'm starting to think ISIS bit off more then they can chew...