Saint-Denis Raid Videos: Watch Shootout Between Suspected Paris Terrorists And French Police
Explosions and heavy gunfire rang out Wednesday morning in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, where French police launched a massive raid targeting the alleged mastermind of Friday's attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, and terrorist suspect, Salah Abdeslam. Videos emerged showing a dramatic shootout at the scene, in which the French capital more resembled a war zone than the City of Light.
The operation went on for several hours, and at least seven explosions were heard at the scene, which is located about one mile from the Stade de France, the national stadium where three suicide bombers detonated Friday during a soccer match. A number of police were injured and a police dog was killed during the hours-long operation, according to the Independent in the United Kingdom.
French officials told CNN the raid focused on two apartments on the same street in the northern suburb, and one led to the other. Two suspected terrorists were killed -- including a female suicide bomber who blew herself up -- while seven more were arrested. Police sources told CNN the raid was "right on time" because the suspected terrorists targeted in Saint-Denis were "about to move on some kind of operation."
It's not clear whether Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of last week's attacks, was among those detained or killed Wednesday. The 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin was initially suspected of organizing the Paris attacks from Syria, BBC News reported.
France's Council of Ministers said Wednesday that authorities have finished identifying all 129 people killed in the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris. More than 100 families have claimed their loved ones' remains, CNN reported. The near simultaneous attacks on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium left hundreds wounded, with 221 people still in the hospital, 57 of them in intensive care, according to BBC News.
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