The top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said Friday that the capture of one terrorist behind last year’s attack in Paris could deliver valuable intelligence that helps other aspects of the fight against the Islamic State.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said that the importance of Salah Abdeslam’s capture to shining a light on how the Islamic State orchestrates attacks “cannot be overstated.”
“His interrogation can also help us understand how ISIS directs and coordinates its attacks on the West, what level of coordination and communication these particular attackers had with core ISIS in Syria, as well as the degree to which the attackers may have used encrypted communications to conceal their plot,” Schiff said in a statement.
French officials announced that Abdeslam was arrested in Brussels nearly four months after the Paris attacks in November that killed more than 130 people in a string of violence that targeted a rock concerts, a national stadium and cafes.
Schiff said he expects to receive a briefing “in the coming days” on the raid that captured Abdeslam as well as what his arrest means for the continuing investigation into the Paris attacks.
