Paris terror attacks mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud ‘killed’ in raid on flat in

Most of the Belgian raids were targeting properties in Jette, Laeken and Molenbeek areas connected to Hadfi, a Frenchman living in Belgium who was one of the seven suicide attackers who died during the attacks.

More patrols, more dogs and random explosives screenings were introduced, along with unseen countermeasures meant to prsevent an attack, the Metro Transit Police Department said.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Monday that a rocket launcher and bulletproof vest were among the items seized. “You can’t imagine the guy wanted to kill so many people and what he wanted to do”.

“A new team of terrorists was neutralised and all indications are that given their arms, their organisational structure and their determination, the commando could have struck”, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins. The prosecutor later added that it was unclear whether Abaaoud had detonated a suicide belt.

A police official not authorized to be publicly named because of police rules said four police officers were injured. It contained a text message sent about 20 minutes after the massacre began that read: “We’re off, it’s started”.

A French official said Monday that Abdelhamid Abaaoud is the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks was also linked to thwarted train and church attacks.

The bodies recovered in the raid were badly mangled, with part of the woman’s spine landing on a police auto, complicating formal identification.

It was not exactly clear where Abaaoud is.

Belgium is arguably Western Europe’s most divided nation, separated into three regions: the Dutch-speaking Flanders, francophone Wallonia and Brussels, the European Union capital whose population of 1.2 million people is about two-thirds of foreign origin.

Despite the intelligence that Abaaoud was hiding out in the flat in Saint-Dernis, it took officials such a long time to identify his body because of the state the building was left in after the raid, it has emerged.

Authorities arrested seven suspects and five police officers suffered minor injuries in the operation – a seven-hour stand-off between security forces and a group of militants holed up in an apartment. Belgian media gave their ages as 27 and 21 respectively. “The investigation will establish precisely how this Belgo-Moroccan was involved”.

State run Pakistan Television says Sharif condemned the attacks and promised to cooperate with France in the fight against terrorism. The video was among evidence authorities used in concluding that at least one other attacker was at large, the French officials indicated.

– As we reported, François Molins, chief prosecutor of France, said Abaaoud was not among the eight arrested yesterday, but authorities were still trying to identify the remains of who they believe are two people.

Also on Tuesday, police in Paris recovered a black Renault Clio auto that was rented by Abdeslam, Belgian and French media reported.

The Stade de France was packed with 79,000 fans when three terrorists blew themselves up outside the venue, killing one bystander and injuring several dozen others. These are not regular people.

France – and the rest of Europe – remain on edge.

Abaaoud, a Belgian citizen, is believed to have joined the terrorist Islamic State group in 2013, according to the BBC.

The group, which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria, has attracted thousands of young Europeans, and Abaaoud was seen as a leading figure in attracting others to the movement, particularly from his home country Belgium.

News of Abaaoud’s death seemed to ease a few tension in a country deeply shocked by the attacks, though officials said the aftermath was far from over.

Parliament is expected to vote by the end of the week to extend the state of emergency for three months.

Kanner, who attended the friendly game between France and Germany on Friday and returned to the stadium on Tuesday to thank its employees, said the decision to keep spectators inside after the blasts was decisive “because a Heysel-type panic could have happened”. The measure now goes to the Senate, where it likely will be approved. The state of emergency expands police powers to carry out arrests and searches, and allows authorities to forbid the movement of people and vehicles at specific times and places.

Previously officials had not specified how many people were involved in the attack on the sidewalk bar on La Fontaine au Roi street, as well as the other night spots.