Krayem left Sweden sometime in 2014 to join ISIL in Syria to fight alongside the anti-Assad Islamic militant group. He was said to be one of the first
Muslim Swedes to have left the country to join ISIL. In January 2015, he was identified by the Swedish press yet again in a
Facebook post sent to his brother in Sweden showing him reportedly in
Deir ez-Zor,
Syria dressed in
military fatigues, standing in front of an
ISIL flag and holding an
AK-47. On 14 March 2015, he uploaded a film clip to his Facebook page showing an execution of a 19 year old
Palestinian from
Jerusalem. Several people from
Malmö, among them Krayem's brother and friends, liked the clip along with individuals in Syria. Krayem later returned to Europe using a
false passport travelling the migrant route from Syria to
Turkey to
Leros,
Greece where he presented himself on 20 September 2015 as Naïm Al Hamed (identified as a Syrian national born on 1 January 1988 and originating from
Hama, Syria, according to the falsified papers). Under this guise as Naïm Al Hamed, he continued to Europe residing in Belgium.
November 2015 Paris attacks In October 2015, Krayem allegedly met
Salah Abdeslam in
Ulm, Germany to discuss possible cooperation in
terrorist attacks. In June 2018 he was
extradited to France into custody of the
National Gendarmerie to be interrogated on his role in the 13 November Paris attack, where 130 were killed. In June 2022 he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for having assisted planning of the Paris attacks including obtained weapons. At trials it was also disclosed that Krayem and Tunisian
Sofien Ayari also both were involved in planning a separate attack on Amsterdam airport as part of the same cell.
2016 Brussels bombings Krayem is believed to be the man seen on CCTV at the Brussels City 2 shopping centre, where he bought the rucksacks later used for the
22 March 2016 terror attack in
Brussels Airport in
Zaventem. His
DNA was found in the
Schaerbeek (Brussels) apartment used by the Zaventem airport bombers. He is also believed to have been the second man alongside bomber
Khalid El Bakraoui at the
Pétillon metro station. El Bakraoui is thought to have carried out the bombing of
Maelbeek metro station minutes later on the morning of 22 March 2016.
The killing of Muath al-Kasasbeh During trial in 2018, Belgian investigators found that Krayem was at the scene where 26-year-old
Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot
Muath Al-Kasasbeh was
burned to death by ISIL in January 2015. In January 2025, Swedish authorities announced that Krayem was to be tried at a criminal court in
Sweden for his involvement in the killing of al-Kasasbeh. Krayem was transferred to Sweden from France for the trial and charged with acts of terrorism and various war crimes. On 31 July 2025, the Stockholm District Court found Krayem guilty of war crimes and acts of terrorism in connection with the 2015 execution of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh in Syria. Although Krayem did not ignite the fire that killed al-Kasasbeh, the court ruled that his presence at the scene—armed, in uniform, and actively participating in forcing the victim into the cage—meant he had contributed directly to the murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. == See also ==