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[h=4]Paris official: Fierce firefight thwarted another attack[/h]The raid is reportedly is targeting the mastermind behind Friday's attacks in Paris.
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Heavily-armed French police conducted raids in the suburb of Saint-Denis, where the mastermind of the Paris attacks is thought to be holed up. A woman with a suicide bomb vest blew herself up. One man was killed; several others were arrested. AP
French soldiers and police are seen during a police raid in Saint-Denis on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015.(Photo: Peter Dejong, AP)
French security officials swept into a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>suburban Paris apartment amid gunshots and explosions Wednesday bent on nabbing the alleged mastermind of the horrific attacks that staggered the city five days ago.
The fierce,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>hourlong firefight eliminated a terrorist cell and likely prevented another attack, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said.
Several<span style="color: Red;">*</span>people with suspected links to terror were arrested and at least two others died in the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>seven-hour siege<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Saint-Denis, Molins said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>One of the fatalities, he<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said, was a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>female suicide bomber who detonated<span style="color: Red;">*</span>explosives as police closed in.
The raid's target was Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>accused of orchestrating<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the a series of attacks Friday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that killed at least 129 people. Molins, who said phone data and eyewitness statements led the manhunt to the apartment,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Abaaoud was not arrested.
Multiple media organizations, citing unidentified sources close to the French investigation,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Abaaoud's cousin may have been<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the female suicide bomber. The Washington Post, citing two senior European intelligence officials,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Abaaoud was killed in the raid.
Earlier, periodic gunfire and explosions could<span style="color: Red;">*</span>be heard in the area, about 5 to 6<span style="color: Red;">*</span>miles from the city center<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and close to the Stade de France<span style="color: Red;">*</span>stadium<span style="color: Red;">*</span>where three<span style="color: Red;">*</span>suicide bombers<span style="color: Red;">*</span>blew themselves<span style="color: Red;">*</span>up<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Friday.
USA TODAY
'Not all heroes are human': French police dog killed in raid
Jawad Bendaoud, a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>man identified by French broadcaster BFMTV<span style="color: Red;">*</span>as the owner of an apartment on the street where the raid took place,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said he let some of the suspects take refuge in his home. "I didn't know they were terrorists," he said. "Someone asked me to put two people up for three days and I did them a favor," he said.
Bendaoud was subsequently arrested.
Other raids overnight netted 25 arrests and the seizure of 34 weapons, the French Interior Ministry reported. The ministry said 60 arrests had been made since Friday's attacks.
In an address to French mayors in Paris,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>President Francois Hollande said that the Islamic State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— the militant group that claimed responsibility for Friday's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>attacks— was a grave threat to the entire world and that a large coalition needed to be built to counter its activities.
Hollande said he will travel to Washington on Tuesday to hold talks with President Obama and to Moscow on Thursday for discussions with President Vladimir Putin.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The Charles de Gaulle, a French aircraft carrier, was on its way to the Middle East<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to support France's military operations in Syria, he added. He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>also agreed to support mayors seeking to arm their municipal police forces.
USA TODAY
The Paris attacks: What we know now
At least five<span style="color: Red;">*</span>policemen were moderately injured during the operation, which began in the early hours of Wednesday morning, about 4:30 a.m. local time time.
The suicide bomber blew herself up as police attempted to enter the apartment.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Details on the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>identities of those killed and arrested<span style="color: Red;">*</span>were not available.
A police dog called "Diesel" was also killed in the security operation.
USA TODAY
Terror manhunt: Car linked to Paris suspect found
Residents of the working class area<span style="color: Red;">*</span>were<span style="color: Red;">*</span>evacuated and placed in shelters in the town hall, French journalist Djamel Mazi said on Twitter.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Schools and shops were<span style="color: Red;">*</span>closed and residents were urged to remain indoors.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>No hostages were being held.
Meanwhile, the French government said Wednesday that all 129 victim's of Friday's attacks have now been identified.
Europe remains on high alert after Friday's attacks that have left more than 400 people wounded, with dozens still in the hospital in intensive care.
On Tuesday night, German authorities cancelled an exhibition game between Germany and the Netherlands amid a bomb scare.
Police in Turkey said they detained eight people Wednesday at an airport in Istanbul<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with suspected links to the Islamic State. The men may have been preparing to enter Germany illegally, the country's state-run Andalou news agency reported.
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