Paris terror attacks: Two killed and five arrested in police raids

THE hunt for the mastermind of the Paris attacks took an extraordinary twist today when it emerged that he was believed to be hiding in a flat in the French capital, which became the scene of a deadly police raid.

Two people are reported to have died – including a woman in a suicide vest who is thought to have blown herself up – while another five were arrested as heavily armed units launched an operation targeting Islamic State militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

One person is still understood to be holed up in the apartment in the suburb of Saint-Denis in the north of the city, close to the Stade de France national stadium, where three terrorists struck during Friday night’s massacre in which 129 people were killed.

Swat teams detained three people at the property, while another man and woman were held nearby, prosecutors said.

The woman wearing the suicide vest detonated the explosives as scores of officers raided the apartment, officials said.

Stunned residents were evacuated from the area as scores of heavily armed officers flooded the streets.

Abaaoud, from Belgium, has been named by French officials as the man behind Friday’s attacks and was initially believed to be in Syria.

Police anti-terrorist officers raided the Saint-Denis apartment in a pre-dawn operation and a shoot-out followed. Sources said four police officers were injured.

The area’s deputy mayor, Stephane Peu, told French television it was not a new terrorist attack and warned residents to stay indoors.

Authorities are also searching for two more extremists suspected of taking part in Friday’s attacks.

News of a second unidentified terrorist thought to be directly involved in the Paris atrocity emerged after CCTV indicated there were three extremists involved in the attack on bars in the city.

It would take the total number of attackers to nine, with seven dead and the eighth surviving gunman, Salah Abdeslam, the subject of an international manhunt.

At least seven explosions were heard at the scene of today’s stand-off in Rue du Cornillon, in the heart of the historic multicultural area north of the city centre.

The disclosure that Abaaoud is believed to be in Paris poses new questionsabout how the attackers, a number of whom were on the radar of authoritiesalready, were able to avoid detection.

The 27-year-old has previously boasted of how he evaded police attempts to foil his terror plans before giving an interview to the Islamic State English-language magazine Dabiq which suggested he was in Syria. His whereabouts since that interview in February had remained unknown.

Belgian authorities had suspected Abaaoud of being the head of a terror cell which was smashed in January in the wake of the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.Paris terror attacks: Scots women lucky to be alive after hiding from gunmen in cellar – click here to read moreTimeline04.25 (03.25 GMT) French police and security forces launch a major operation in the north Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, believed to have Abdelhamid Abaaoud, mastermind of Friday’s attacks, as its target. Swarms of Swat police supported by military units are seen surrounding an apartment building in Rue du Cornillon, a historic street in a culturally diverse area less than 1.2 miles (2km) from the Stade de France, where terrorists struck on Friday in the first of a series of attacks that left 129 people dead. According to a senior French police official, Abaaoud has barricaded himself in the flat with up to five heavily armed accomplices. In an initial offensive, scores of police officers storm the building, although they are held back when they meet heavy resistance and suffer several casualties. 05.55 Vehicles carrying French soldiers and a number of ambulances are seen rushing towards Saint-Denis. Surrounding roads are sealed off and residents are told to stay indoors. Deputy Mayor Stephane Peu reassures Parisians that police activity, gunfire and explosions are not a sign of a fresh attack but an “intervention”. 06.27 A helicopter is seen circling over the apartment block and a pedestrian area at the centre of the siege. Saint-Denis Mayor Didier Paillard says schools in the area will not open and transport has been stopped. 06.55 More police reinforcements arrive at the scene. 07.20 Intense gunfire and at least four explosions are heard in Saint-Denis, with some claiming to have heard the sound of grenades. Police in riot gear move to clear civilian bystanders from the streets. 07.35 Witnesses describe hearing at least three more explosions likened to grenade blasts coming from the building. Police officials say several officers have been injured, although their condition is unknown. 07.45 Security forces evacuate around 20 people living in the building at the centre of the stand-off. It is not clear if children or the elderly are among those rescued. They are said to have been taken 200 yards to the City Hall for protection. 08.20 Police announce that two suspects – a man and a woman – were killed in the operation and two suspects detained, although it is not known if Abaaoud is among them, dead or alive. Two police officers are said to have suffered injuries in the stand-off. 08.40 It emerges that one of the early explosions heard at the scene was from a woman detonating a suicide vest. The number of injured police officers rises to four. 09.00 Paris prosecutors announce that three suspects have been arrested in the raid and another man and woman are arrested nearby. 09.20 Police officials in Denmark announce that they have raised the country’s internal threat level to “significant elevated preparedness” in response to events in Paris and other European countries. The country’s intelligence agency keeps its own assessment of the risk as “serious”. 09.30 One suspect remains in the apartment at the centre of the five-hour siege. The number of arrests rises to five, including one woman. 10.00 French authorities confirm the death of a police dog in the operation.