Two dead in raid targeting ‘mastermind’ of Paris attacks

A police official not authorized to be publicly named because of police rules said four police officers were injured.

According to French media, at least two suspects are dead as a result of the police operation, including a woman who killed herself with a suicide belt.

The official says authorities believe Abaaoud is holed up in an apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, along with up to five other heavily armed people. “Kalashnikovs. Starting again”, Guizani said.

Police are still looking for two of the nine attackers including Belgian-born Sala Abdeslam and another unidentified man.

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

A resident said an explosion shook the neighborhood around 4 a.m. (0300GMT).

Dreaded terror outfit Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL shocked the Western world on Friday when they attacked six locations in the French capital, killing a total of 129 civilians and injuring more than 300.

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) – The presumed mastermind of last week’s devastating attacks in Paris once bragged about being so slippery he could move undetected between Syria and Belgium, his home country.

Another source said a special armed response unit took part in the raid, which comes as Europe was on high alert after footage from the scene of one of Friday’s attacks revealed a ninth suspect may have taken part.

French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting with senior ministers at the Elysee Palace to monitor the raid.

In Syria, France and Russia bombed targets to punish Islamic State for the coordinated Paris massacre and the downing of a Russian airliner over Sinai on October 31. Then two more explosions.

In a sign of the nervousness gripping Europe after Friday’s carnage, a football match between Germany and the Netherlands was cancelled Tuesday and the crowd evacuated after police acted on a “serious” bomb threat.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said a cease-fire between Syria’s government and the opposition could be just weeks away.

Two Air France flights bound for Paris from the US were diverted Tuesday night – one to Salt Lake City and one to Halifax – because of anonymous threats received after they had taken off. Both were inspected and cleared to resume their journeys.