Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Paris attacks: How the deadly Saint-Denis raids unfolded

Amid gunfire and explosions, French police have raided a suburban Paris apartment where the suspected mastermind of last week’s attacks was believed to be holed up.

The siege ended with two deaths and seven arrests but no clear information on his fate.

The dead were a woman who blew herself up with an explosive vest and a man hit by projectiles and grenades at the end of the raid, which began before dawn and continued for more than seven hours at the apartment building in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

Soldiers operate in St. Denis, a northern suburb of Paris
Soldiers operate in St. Denis, a northern suburb of Paris

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the raid was launched after information from tapped telephone conversations, surveillance and witness accounts indicated that the suspected attacks planner, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, might be in a safe house in the district.

Authorities could not immediately confirm whether Abaaoud, a Belgian Islamic State militant, was killed or arrested on Wednesday morning.

Abaaoud was believed to be in Syria after a January police raid in Belgium, but bragged in IS propaganda of his ability to move back and forth between Europe and Syria undetected.

Speaking at the scene of Wednesday’s raid, Mr Molins said the operation began with a pre-dawn shootout and resulted in the capture of three people inside the apartment, the death of a woman who set off an explosive charge, and the death of “another terrorist who was found at the end of the operation who was hit by projectiles and grenades”.

He said two other people were detained while trying to hide in the rubble, and two others were arrested, including the man who had provided the apartment and one of his acquaintances. Police at the scene were seen escorting away one man naked from the waist down and another wrapped in a gold emergency blanked.

Police forces prepare in Saint Denis
Police forces prepare in Saint Denis

“As things stand, it is impossible to give you the identities of the people detained, which are being verified,” he said.

Mr Molins and interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve did not specify whether any suspects might still be at large.

A police official said four police officers were injured.

French president Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting with senior ministers at the Elysee Palace to monitor the raid.

Residents said an explosion shook the neighbourhood shortly after 4am local time.

“We guessed it was linked to Friday night,” said Yves Steux, barman at L’Escargot restaurant 250 metres (yards) from the assault.“My wife panicked and was scared and told me not to leave, but I ignored her. Life goes on.”

Baptiste Marie, a 26-year-old independent journalist who lives in the neighbourhood, said a second large explosion was followed by “two more explosions. There was an hour of gunfire”.

Police forces in St. Denis
Police forces in St. Denis

Another witness, Amine Guizani, said he heard the sound of grenades and automatic gunfire.

“It was continuous. It didn’t stop,” he said. “It lasted from 4.20am until 5.30am. It was a good hour. I couldn’t say how many shots were fired, but it was probably 500. Hundreds, definitely. There were maybe 10 explosions.”

Sporadic bangs and explosions continued, and at 7.30am at least seven explosions shook the centre of Saint-Denis. Associated Press reporters at the scene could hear what sounded like grenade blasts from the direction of the standoff.

Investigators have identified 27-year-old Abaaoud, a Belgian of Moroccan descent, as the chief architect of Friday’s attacks in Paris, which killed 129 people and injured 350 others.

A police officer takes cover during the raid
A police officer takes cover during the raid

A US official briefed on intelligence matters said Abaaoud was a key figure in an IS external operations cell that US intelligence agencies have been tracking for many months.

Police vans and fire trucks rushed to the scene north of Paris, less than two kilometres (just over a mile) from the Stade de France stadium. Three suicide bombers blew themselves up on Friday near the stadium during an international football match with Mr Hollande in attendance.
In Saint-Denis on Wednesday, police cordoned off the area nearby, including a pedestrian zone lined with shops and 19th-century apartment buildings. Riot police cleared people from the streets, pointing guns at curious residents to move them off the roads.

Saint-Denis is one of France’s most historic places. French kings were crowned and buried through the centuries in its famed basilica, a majestic Gothic church that towers over the area. Today the district is home to a vibrant and ethnically diverse population and sees sporadic tension between police and violent youths.

Soldiers operate in St. Denis
Soldiers operate in St. Denis

Saint-Denis mayor Didier Paillard said public transport was suspended and that schools in the centre of town would not open on Wednesday.
Seven attackers died in Friday’s attacks, which targeted several bars and restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall, as well as the national stadium. IS has claimed responsibility for the carnage.

Police had said before the raids that they were hunting for two fugitives suspected of taking part as well as any accomplices. That would bring the number of attackers to at least nine.

French authorities had previously said that at least eight people were directly involved in the bloodshed: seven who died in the attacks and one who got away and slipped across the border to Belgium.
However, there have been gaps in officials’ public statements, which have never fully disclosed how many attackers took part in the deadly rampage.

On Tuesday, officials said they now believe at least one other attacker was involved and they were working to identify and track down that suspect.

Soldiers operate in St Denis, a northern suburb of Paris (AP)
Soldiers operate in St Denis, a northern suburb of Paris (AP)

Surveillance video obtained by the AP also indicated that a team of three attackers carried out the shootings at one of the cafes. The video was among evidence authorities used in concluding that at least one other attacker was at large, the French officials indicated.

The brief clip shows two black-clad gunmen with automatic weapons calmly firing on the bar then returning towards a waiting car, whose driver was manoeuvring behind them. Authorities believe the car is the same black Seat-make vehicle that was found on Saturday with three Kalashnikovs inside.

Police have identified one subject of their manhunt as Salah Abdeslam, whom French police accidentally permitted to cross into Belgium on Saturday. One of his brothers, Brahim, blew himself up in Paris.
n.