French police commandoes killed on Wednesday, in a pre-dawn raid, the suspected ringleader of the Paris terror attacks, said two senior European officials. Over 100 cops and soldiers stormed an apartment building in Saint-Denis where the Daesh jihadist was hiding and likely planning another attack.
The seven-hour siege resulted in the death of two people. One of them was identified as Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian terrorist who once said he could easily enter Europe and areas controlled by Daesh or Islamic State militants in Syria, reports The Washington Post.
However, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said he could not provide the names of people killed, while a French security official neither denied nor confirmed the death of Abaaoud. The two European officials who named him said the information was provided by French authorities.
Due to the lack of official confirmation, how Abaaoud died remains unclear amid different speculations that he was killed by a police officer, committed suicide or died in a suicide blast triggered by a female inside the building. Forensic specialists were seen going over the blasted windows and collapsed floor, likely in search of more evidence.
A mobile phone thrown away gave investigators clues to where the terrorists' safe houses are located. According to Molins, a witnessed tipped authorities that Abaaoud was hiding on the building's third floor. Eight people were arrested on Wednesday from the edifice and nearby locations, but Molins said Abaaoud and Salah Abdeslam, another wanted suspect, were not among them. He said the corpse has not been formally identified, reports NBC.
Besides the building in Saint-Denis, the Daesh jihadists used two other safe houses in Paris and three rental vehicles to launch the six attacks.
Diesel, a police dog, was killed and five police officers were injured in the pre-dawn police operations.