BRUSSELS — When Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian-born son of an immigrant shopkeeper from Morocco, went to Syria a year ago to wage jihad, nobody paid much attention. He was just one of more than two dozen angry young men from the grimy Molenbeek district in Brussels who, lured by the promise of adventure and reward from God, have taken up the fight for Islam.
But people took notice, a few months later, when Mr. Abaaoud recruited his own 13-year-old brother to join him in Syria, soon after the release of a gruesome video that showed him in a pickup truck dragging a pile of mutilated bodies.
“Naturally, this was a big shock,” Yasmina, their older sibling, said, referring to her barely teenage brother’s departure.
In recent days, that feeling has only grown as Abdelhamid Abaaoud (pronounced a-ba-OOD), who is thought to have returned to Europe, has emerged as a prime suspect in what Belgian authorities say was an imminent terrorist operation thwarted by raids on Jan. 15 on an extremist hideaway in the east of Belgium and nine homes in Molenbeek.
Coming on the heels of a three-day rampage by a trio of Islamic extremists in Paris, the foiled plot here sent an alarming message that the radicalization of young Muslims extended far beyond the bleak housing projects that ring Paris and other French cities.
It has also highlighted the dangers posed by a well-developed underground jihadist pipeline that has made Belgium Europe’s biggest per capita contributor of fighters to Syria, and the fears of the potential havoc these extremists could sow upon their return.
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“While living in Europe, I never ate food like I have eaten here,” he said, speaking against the crackle of gunfire as he crouched behind sandbags. I have entered into villas and palaces that, praise be to God, have, through the will of God, been provided for us here.”
His main recruiting pitch, however, was an appeal to young Muslims’ feelings of exclusion from the mainstream and rage at the treatment of Muslims.
“Are you satisfied with the life you lead, a humiliating life, whether you are in Europe, in Africa, in Arab countries or in America? Are you satisfied with this life, with this life of humiliation?”
Only violent jihad, he continued, could restore their pride and honor. “You will find this only in your religion, only in jihad,” he said. “Is there anything better than jihad or a martyr?”
James Kanter contributed reporting from Brussels, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.
A version of this article appears in print on January 25, 2015, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Belgium Confronts the Jihadist Danger Within. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
