Two Dead and Seven Arrested in Raid Targeting Paris Attacks "Mastermind"
Mother Jones
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Update, 12:56 p.m. EST: Big questions remain concerning the identities of those killed and arrested in the early morning raid carried out in St. Denis. The Washington Post reports Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected “mastermind” behind last Friday’s attacks on Paris, is dead. However, France’s chief prosecutor said in a press conference the identity of those killed and arrested could still not verified.
BREAKING: Paris prosecutor: Identities of 2 dead in Saint-Denis raid still being investigated.
— The Associated Press (@AP)
Previously:
Two terror suspects, including one female suicide bomber who detonated herself using an explosive vest, were killed in an early morning raid in the northern Paris suburb of St-Denis on Wednesday. Seven people were also arrested in the seven-hour standoff.
The raid was targeting Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian-born terror suspect believed to be the “mastermind” behind the coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday. Authorities have yet to determine the identities of the terror suspects arrested and killed in Wednesday’s raid.
According to some reports, the woman who blew herself up may have been Abaaoud’s cousin.
A heavy police presence remains in the city. The Guardian reports residents have been told to stay inside and roads have been blocked off.
Central #saintdenis now. Apartment was on the left 200 yards down. #parisattacks pic.twitter.com/3INJhv1Elk
— Piers Scholfield (@inglesi)
Speaking to mayors around the country on Wednesday morning, French President Francois Hollande pointed to the violent raid as a sign the country was at “war with ISIS.” He also reaffirmed France’s commitment to taking in 30,000 refugees, despite fears that terrorists may try to enter Europe with the flow of migrants.
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Two Dead and Seven Arrested in Raid Targeting Paris Attacks "Mastermind"