A friend of Chechen Paris attacker Khamzat Asimov has been revealed to be an employee of the French immigration agency and married a woman known to be a radical Islamic extremist.
The friend of the attacker, identified as Abdoul Hakim A., was arrested Sunday following the terror attack which saw Chechen immigrant Khamzat Asimov stab several people in Paris, killing one and injuring four others.
Abdoul Hakim A. had been considered a “moderate Muslim” and had been employed at the Office of Immigration in Strasbourg since January, French newspaper Ouest France reports.
According to reports, Abdoul Hakim A. was born in the Chechen capital of Grozny in 1997 and moved to France when he was 13 with his mother. He befriended terrorist Asimov in high school.
While he allegedly told investigators that he was a moderate Muslim, he married a woman known to not only be a radical Islamic extremist but who is also said to have attempted to travel to Syria. The French intelligence services is reported to have kept tabs on the couple shortly after their marriage.
During a search of his home, police found seven mobile phones though Abdoul Hakim A. claimed to have lost his main phone.
Director General of the French Office for Immigration and Integration, Didier Leschi, commented on the revelation saying that Abdoul Hakim A. had undergone a background check and had no criminal history.
The attack comes only months after German historian Christian Osthold warned that Chechens were taking over the radical Islamic scene in a region of Germany and that many had links to the Islamic State terror group.
Chechen Islamist gangs have also been reported to be enforcing sharia law within their communities in Berlin, often forcing Chechen women to abide by a strict form of modesty or face threats and intimidation.