Police raid in Paris is over

Police stormed an apartment in the Paris suburb of St. Denis before dawn in a hunt for Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian militant accused of masterminding the bombings and shootings, but it was unclear whether he had died in the assault.

At least 129 people were killed when terrorists struck multiple locations Friday in Paris, and more than 350 others were wounded.

One of the Friday night targets was outside a Paris stadium where France was playing Germany in a friendly soccer match. One said the woman, Hasna Aitboulahcen, is believed to have detonated a suicide vest in the building after a brief conversation with police officers.

According to the official, one of the officers asked: “Where is your boyfriend?” and she responded angrily: “He’s not my boyfriend!” Then loud bangs are heard.

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.

Investigators have discovered at least one piece of evidence that could help them in their search: One of the attacker’s cell phones was found in a trash bin outside the Bataclan concert hall, where most of Friday’s victims were gunned down.

Eight people were arrested following the raid which saw p olice fire about 5,000 rounds of ammunition as the terrorist cell barricaded themselves in the hideout. No information has been released on the status of Salah Abdeslam, another of the identified suspects in the Paris attacks Friday.

An official in the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press the raids were taking place in the suburb of Molenbeek and other areas of Brussels.

French lawmakers on Thursday were to begin debating whether to extend the state of emergency declared after last week’s attacks to February, and expand it to allow suspects to be placed under house arrest. “We moreover have to authenticate people who are coming onto the European territory and in to France to make sure there are zero risks for our country”.

Valls did not say there was a specific threat against France involving such weapons, however. “We must all be aware we can be attacked again”, he said. They include the person who loaned the apartment to the suspected terrorists and his friend, according to authorities. He was also implicated in the foiled attack this past August on the high-speed train that links Brussels and Paris, which was thwarted when three American holidaymakers wrestled an armed gunman to the ground.

The raids came as Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel announced measures to step up the fight against terrorism, CNBC reported.

French prosecutors said they were “not in a position” to identify those killed by police to the press, but they did note that Abaaoud was not among those arrested, suggesting that the ISIS ringleader may be among the dead.

Fabius, speaking on France-Inter radio, said the group “is a monster”.

Islamic State said they carried out the attacks in retaliation for French and Russian air raids in Iraq and Syria.

But Kerry said on Tuesday that it would be impossible to defeat the Islamic State without the departure of Assad.

The suspects appeared to be “prepared to act” in another possible attack, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said, noting their weaponry, structured organization and determination. A message on the phone read “We are off and we’re starting”.

Molins said officials believe those suspects were planning another attack. Seven terrorists died in the attack and another is thought to have escaped into Belgium.

Mr Molins said the identities of those killed and arrested were still being verified, and “based on the work of forensic police, we’ll tell you who was in the apartment – and what consequences it will have for the development of the investigation”, he said. But two US officials said that many, though not all, of the attackers identified so far were on the U.S.no-fly list.

The Kremlin said Putin spoke to Hollande by telephone and had ordered the Russian navy to establish contact with a French naval force heading to the eastern Mediterranean, led by an aircraft carrier, and to treat them as allies.

Declaring the country is “at war”, French President Francois Hollande has proposed extending the state of emergency for a further three months, along with sweeping new anti-terrorism laws.