Why we maybe shouldn't call Paris suspect Abdelhamid Abaaoud a 'mastermind'

Police in Paris conducted a raid overnight which is believed to have been a hunt for Abdelbhamid Abaaoud, the individual thought to have planned the Isis terror attacks that horrified the world last week.

One person detonated her suicide vest and another was reported shot by a police sniper in the seven-hour incident in the Saint Denis area. Seven unidentified people have been arrested, but the fate of Abaaoud remains unclear.

In the days that have passed since Isis carried out attacks on the cities of Beirut, Baghdad and Paris, several profiles of Abaaoud have emerged, trying to piece together the events and choices in the Belgian's life that have led to this juncture.

The 27-year-old has been described as a 'mastermind' for his alleged role in planning and carrying out the massacres around Paris that killed 129 people.

Several people on social media, though, have pointed out that 'mastermind' may not be the right term to use, as it could glorify the killer's actions.

Zero Hedge, the economics activist blog, wrote a story about Abaaoud, questioning how our perceptions of what a jihadi 'mastermind' looks like have changed since Osama bin Laden orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.

Whatever his role in the Paris massacre or in any other attacks recently perpetrated in the name of Isis, the interesting thing here is that this most certainly is not a battle-hardened Mujahideen who earned his stripes fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan.

No, Abaaoud is just a kid from Belgium. He's the son of an immigrant shopkeeper from Morocco, he wasn't religious (according to his sister), and he spent a year at Collège Saint-Pierre, a prestigious Catholic school.

If the allegations are true, then Abaaoud did plan and pull off a complex operation - but full details are still emerging, and Isis doesn't need any help glamourising its atrocities.

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