Nabila Bakkatha, the Moroccan woman falsely portrayed in a section of media as Paris raid suicide bomber
A Moroccan woman was shocked to see her photo flashed all over the media as the suicide bomber who killed herself during a raid last week targeting the Paris attacks mastermind.
"I have no connection to terrorism. My only connection is that my photos were sold to the journalist who published it. The journalist did not research or anything, just published what he got," says Nabila Bakkatha, who went to France when she was 15 and lived there for nine years till 2007.
In several newspapers, Nabila's image was captioned "Hasna Ait Boulahcen, the jihadi woman killed in a Paris raid last week."
In footage being circulated widely with the message "Share this Video", Nabila says the photos were sold by a friend she had made while living in France.
Nabila shared that she had a falling out with this friend and she possibly did this for revenge.
"The family that I haven't seen in a while thought I was the one who died," she said.
Reports suggest that Nabila wants to sue the woman who sold her photos and the journalist who bought them. She says she stopped going to work and lives in continuous fear.
Hasna Aitboulahcen, the woman who actually killed herself with a suicide vest, is believed to be a cousin of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Islamic State terrorist who allegedly orchestrated the Paris attacks nearly two weeks ago, in which 129 people died. Abaaoud also died in the raid, France confirmed.
Hasna was described as the 26-year-old daughter of a Moroccan immigrant, a wild child who smoked, drank and stayed out late. Articles mentioned a widely circulated photograph showing her in a bubble bath and another in "full Muslim garb."