‘Mastermind’ of Paris attacks killed in French police raid

French authorities thought the 27-year-old was in Syria.

He told reporters the strikes were aimed at weakening and disorganizing IS.

But how did the “spider in the web” as one Belgian official described him get into France, where was intelligence from within another European country to tip off France?

France is adjusting to a new, tense state of normalcy.

His call came at the start of an emergency meeting of EU interior and justice ministers aimed at fine-tuning a European security response to the attacks in Paris a week ago, in which 129 people were killed.

Gentiloni adds that the USA alert didn’t warn people to stay away from Italy.

Lisbeth Jessen, spokeswoman for police in Denmark, says Sweden’s Security Service, known as SAPO, said the man entered Sweden this week.

Abaaoud played “an instrumental role in the attacks” in Paris, he said. Prosecutors said they would give more details on how long the suspects would be held on Friday.

On Wednesday, SAPO raised the country’s terror alert to the second-highest level.

Mr Valls said on Thursday that ISIL could arm itself with biological and chemical weapons for use in future atrocities. He did not identify the countries or worldwide partner.

She was reportedly brought up by her mother in the Paris region, but spent time with foster parents and regularly visited her father after he moved to a housing estate in Creutzwald, east of Metz on the French-German border, where she studied. “Racism united with hatred of Islam is the greatest calamity and danger”.

She is believed to be Islamic State supporter Hasna Aitboulahcen.

Moroccan-born Abaaoud, 28, was accused of orchestrating last Friday’s attacks. “On Wednesday I turned on my television and learned she had killed herself”, said her brother.

Wainwright was speaking Thursday at a European Parliament debate on the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

Molins said investigators were still trying to identify the recipient of the message.

Police in NY, the target of the September 11, 2001, suicide plane attacks, said they were aware of a newly released Islamic State video suggesting America’s most populous city was a potential target.

Obama is now scheduled to be in Paris on November 30 and December 1.

He said the three cars found in Paris after the attacks were rented by the Abdesalam brothers in Belgium and arrived “in convoy” on the eve of the attacks.

He says “we can not solve the problem at either the Austrian or the German borders”.

However, as investigators weave together a complex web of clues pointing to a sophisticated logistical operation that took place under the nose of European intelligence officers, several burning questions remain.

“Abdelhamid Abaaoud has just been formally identified, after comparing fingerprints, as having been killed during the raid”, the office of Chief Prosecutor Francois Molins said in a statement. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly. However, he says no Greek agency has a record of Abaaoud’s presence.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls broke the news of Abaaoud’s death to parliament on Thursday to applause from French lawmakers who were voting to extend a state of emergency for three months.

An extension to emergency anti-terrorism powers is being considered by French lawmakers. It goes to the upper house Friday.

“We know that there could also be a risk of chemical or biological weapons”.

Headlines flashed around the world this week that Aitboulahcen had become Europe’s first woman suicide bomber, after officials said they believed she had blown herself up at the scene of the raid in a northern Paris suburb.

The raided homes belonged to family and friends of Bilal Hadfi. The raids are centering on “his entourage”, the official said.

– In Belgium, where numerous Paris attackers lived, Prime Minister Charles Michel announced a package of additional anti-terror measures, and said 400 million euros (USD427 million) would be earmarked to expand the fight.

Three police officials have told The Associated Press that a woman who died in the police raid was Abaaoud’s cousin.

The official, who can not be named because of government rules, said Turkish profiling teams have questioned a few 4,700 suspects in the past two years. Around 1,300 people were denied entry into Turkey, while more than 2,300 were deported.

Islamic State, which controls swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, has claimed responsibility, saying the attacks were in retaliation for French air raids against their positions over the past year.

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