The Paris terrorist attackers conducted prior surveillance of at least some of the locations they attacked and showed signs of tactical planning and military-style training, a new U.S. intelligence bulletin says.
The bulletin issued by the FBI, Homeland Security department and the National Counterterrorism Center warns U.S. law enforcement to review training to deal with active shooters, according to U.S. officials.
The bulletin, which was described to CNN and confirmed by other U.S. officials, advises local law enforcement to go over active shooter scenarios and asks for them to be on the lookout for any suspicious people doing surveillance at soft targets and similar locations.
The bulletin also said plots like Paris are more likely to happen in Europe and other locations overseas because of geography and ‘societal factors.’
A cell phone recovered from a garbage bin near the scene of the Bataclan concert venue and believed to belong to one of the terrorists contained a map of the theater, the bulletin said. The phone contained encrypted applications. As CNN was first to report, the cell phone also had a text message, indicating an apparent method used to coordinate the attacks.
The attackers rented three cars in Belgium before moving to a safe house they rented in France.
The bulletin said the Paris attacks showed a greater level of use of multiple tactics by ISIS to inflict major causalities.
The multiple targets and apparent discipline showed likely prior training and familiarity with the targets to ensure the attacks would be effective.
European intelligence has assessed that some of the attackers traveled to Syria and their use of assault rifles and suicide belts appeared to indicate training, according to the U.S. officials who confirmed the bulletin contents.
