NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Paris terror attacks: Ex-wife of suicide bomber calls him a lazy pothead

Daily Mail
17 Nov, 2015 09:08 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Ibrahim Abdeslam's passport. He was one of the terrorists who slaughtered 129 people in Paris.

Ibrahim Abdeslam's passport. He was one of the terrorists who slaughtered 129 people in Paris.

• Ex-wife reveals life with Paris terrorist
• 'His favourite activities were smoking weed and sleeping'
• Abdeslam accidentally detonated the bomb early
• READ MORE: Terror at football stadium

The ex-wife of a Paris bomber who killed himself in the Paris terrorist attacks has called him jobless and lazy.

Ibrahim Abdeslam, 31, a trained electrician, blew himself up outside the Comptoir Voltaire cafe in Paris' 11th district.

His wife of two years, Niama, said the man did just one day of work during their time together. The pair split in 2008.

Speaking from her home in Moleenbeek, Brussels, Naima, 36, told the Daily Mail: "His favourite activities were smoking weed and sleeping. He often slept during the day. The number of joints that he smoked was alarming.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Despite his diploma as an electrician, he found no job," she said.

"In those two years we were married, he worked a single day. It made him lazy."

Ibrahim was one of at least eight jihadis behind the attacks in Paris, which left 129 dead and at least 352 injured.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Security sources suggest he had accidentally detonated the bomb early, after fumbling with the device, the Daily Mail reported.

His younger brother, Salah Abdeslam, 26, is wanted after police failed to arrest him when he crossed the border into Belgium after the attacks.

Ibrahim's extremism came as a surprise to Naima.

She told the Daily Mail that her former husband never went to mosque or prayed - although he did keep Ramadan because his family forced him to.

Discover more

World

Debunking myths on the attacks

17 Nov 04:00 PM
World

Boyfriend didn't know she was pregnant

17 Nov 05:43 PM
Football

Wembley's salute to France

17 Nov 07:55 PM
World

Find him: Hunt for ninth jihadi

17 Nov 10:23 PM

Because Ibrahim - who, according to his family, had spent a "long time" in Syria in recent years - didn't have a job, he stayed at home all day watching DVDs and listening to the Arabic hip-hop music they both loved, she said.

On the run: Ibrahim's brother Salah.
On the run: Ibrahim's brother Salah.

Money was tight for the couple. "We lived on unemployment benefit which was only €1000 (NZ$1645) a month between us, so we worried a lot about money.

"We didn't have children because we didn't have the money to raise them."

He did not follow current affairs and had no gripe against the West, Naima said.

Ibrahim had served two prison sentences for theft, one for three months and one of six months and as a minor he set his family home on fire.

The Daily Mail reported that Naima said Ibrahim was "chilled out," "of good character" and was never violent with her or others.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She said the couple met in a bar in downtown Brussels in 2004 when Ibrahim sat on the barstool next to her and began chatting her up.

"From that day on we were always together. He would take me out to a restaurant or to the cinema or we listened to Arabic music. I was happy and in love," Naima said.

After two years the couple decided to get married and had a civil non-religious wedding in the town hall for 20 people, followed by a party in a restaurant in the evening.

Ibrahim's parents did not attend the wedding, nor did his brother Salah, the 26-year-old allegedly responsible for "logistics" for the attack.

Naima told the Daily Mail that Ibrahim's father, Abdaramane, a driver on the metro, was not very religious and just went to the mosque on a Friday. His mother Yamina was the most progressive, according to Naima. She didn't cook that much and would go out in the evening for pizza with her friends.

A bird flies in front of the Eiffel Tower ,which remained closed on the first of three days of national mourning. Photo / Daniel Ochoa de Olza
Christ the Redeemer statue is lit with the colors of France's flag, in solidarity with France after attacks in Paris, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. Multiple attacks across Paris
A woman has a peace sign combined with the Eiffel Tower painted on her face. Photo / Markus Schreiber
A boy holds a French flag during a vigil in solidarity. Photo / Fernando Vergara
People react outside the Paris morgue in Paris. Photo / Peter Dejong
Two Ultra-Orthodox Jews look at Jerusalem's Old City walls illuminated by the colors of the French national flag in solidarity. Photo / Ariel Schalit
A floral tribute is placed next to blood stains near the scene of the Bataclan Theatre terrorist attack in Paris. Photo / Christopher Furlong
A man is wrapped in a French flag as he puts down flowers in front of the French embassy in Berlin. Photo / Gregor Fischer
A French policeman assists a blood-covered victim near the Bataclan concert hall following attacks in Paris. Photo / Philippe Wojazer / Reuters
Spectators embrace each other as they stand on the playing field of the Stade de France stadium. Photo / Christophe Ena
A woman is being evacuated from the Bataclan theater after a shooting in Paris. Photo / Thibault Camus
French special forces evacuate people as people gather near the Bataclan concert hall following fatal shootings in Paris. Photo / Christian Hartmann / Reuters
French fire brigade members aid an injured individual near the Bataclan concert hall following fatal shootings in Paris. Photo / Christian Hartmann / Reuters
A victim under a blanket lays dead outside the Bataclan theater in Paris. Photo / Jerome Delay
Photo posted to Twitter. Photo / Tommy Pouilly
A medic tends to a man. Photo / Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images.

Image 1 of 16: A bird flies in front of the Eiffel Tower ,which remained closed on the first of three days of national mourning. Photo / Daniel Ochoa de Olza

She said the reasons for their 2008 split were private, but they parted on friendly terms. Ibrahim intended to find a new wife, she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Since then she had had no contact with Ibrahim or the family and only found out on Monday about his involvement.

"I have no explanation she says. I am shocked."

But while Naima is shocked, Ibrahim's family admit he had been "radicalised", the Daily Mail reported, while Belgian authorities have said he was on a terror watch list.

According to Mo magazine, the two brothers, and fellow suicide bomber Bilal Hadfi - who blew himself up outside the Stade de France - were among 800 names of suspected extremists held by the OCAD Belgian intelligence service.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

Cricket

IPL suspended amid India-Pakistan tensions

09 May 09:49 AM
World

Watch: AI video of road rage victim used in court, killer gets max sentence

09 May 07:23 AM
World

'Very negative': Son of alleged mushroom poisoner shares claims about parents in court

09 May 06:50 AM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

IPL suspended amid India-Pakistan tensions

IPL suspended amid India-Pakistan tensions

09 May 09:49 AM

New schedule details will follow after assessing the situation.

Watch: AI video of road rage victim used in court, killer gets max sentence

Watch: AI video of road rage victim used in court, killer gets max sentence

09 May 07:23 AM
'Very negative': Son of alleged mushroom poisoner shares claims about parents in court

'Very negative': Son of alleged mushroom poisoner shares claims about parents in court

09 May 06:50 AM
Australian police arrest dozens over LGBTQ dating app-linked assaults

Australian police arrest dozens over LGBTQ dating app-linked assaults

09 May 04:02 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP