Story highlights State Department accuses Abdelilah Himich of creating a European terrorist fighter cellIt says he was reportedly involved in the planning of ISIS attacks on Paris and Brussels(CNN) The US government has identified a suspect believed to have been involved in the planning of ISIS attacks that rocked the French capital a year ago and Brussels, Belgium, in March. Abdelilah Himich, also known as Abu Sulayman al-Faransi, was named in a US State Department statement Tuesday announcing the designation of three men as terrorists. Himich is a "senior foreign terrorist fighter and external operations figure" for ISIS, according to the statement. He is accused of creating a "European foreign terrorist fighter cell" in 2015 called the Tariq Ibn Ziyad Battalion that at one time numbered as many as 300 people and has provided operatives for ISIS attacks in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. "Himich was also reportedly involved in the planning of ISIL's November 2015 Paris attacks and March 2016 Brussels attacks," the statement said, using an alternative acronym for ISIS.

Source: CNN November 23, 2016 11:42 UTC