ISIL video claims to show Paris attackers in Syria and Iraq

A new video released by ISIL claims to show footage of the nine Paris attackers in Syria and Iraq before they carried out attacks on 13 November 2015. The nine assailants, including suspected leader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, are reportedly shown carrying out beheadings and participating in target practice, although their identities have not yet been confirmed. If the identities of the men in the video are confirmed to be genuine it would suggest that the attacks in Paris were not only influenced by ISIL, but directly co-ordinated by the group at strongholds in Syria and Iraq. In addition to showing the men involved in the Paris attacks, the video also shows footage of London and the House of Commons vote in favour of air strikes in Syria, seemingly threatening an attack on England’s capital. Prime Minister David Cameron and John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, are also shown with crosshairs over their faces, indicating that they are also targets for the terrorist group. A spokesman for the UK government said: “We are currently examining this latest Daesh [ISIL] propaganda video – another desperate move from an appalling terrorist group that is clearly in decline.”