3 terrorist suspects killed in French raid in Saint-Denis, police say
Three terrorist suspects have been killed in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis during a major security operation linked to the deadly attacks that rocked the French capital five days ago, a police source said. The targets of the raid are believed to have included the purported mastermind of the attacks.
Latest developments:
• 3:07 a.m. ET: Five people have been arrested during the operation, the Paris prosecutor's office said. They include three men who were removed from the apartment at the heart of the raid, and a man and a woman who were detained near the apartment, the prosecutor's office said. It also confirmed that a woman killed herself at the scene by activating her suicide belt.
• 2:47 a.m. ET: Three suspected terrorists have been killed in the raid, a police source told CNN. Three police officers were wounded, the source said.
• 2:30 a.m. ET: The security operation in Saint-Denis "is coming to an end," French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said on French radio.
• 2:16 a.m. ET: Two terrorists were killed in the raid and one is still holed up in a building alive, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported. One of the terrorists was shot by a police sniper, and the second was a woman who died after her suicide vest exploded, the broadcaster reported. A civilian passerby was killed during the operation and at least three police were wounded in the raid, it said.
• 2:08 a.m. ET: Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks, is one of the potential targets of the operation, a senior Belgian counterterrorism official told CNN. The official cautioned that French and Belgian authorities weren't certain that Abaaoud was at the location when they launched the raid in search of high priority targets.
• 1:32 a.m. ET: A series of explosions is heard in the area. The cause of the blasts wasn't immediately clear.
• Police and soldiers have cordoned off the zone and all public transportation in the area has been halted. Residents have been warned to stay inside.
Paris attacks: What you need to know
Full story:
Gunfire and explosions shook the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis early Wednesday as heavily armed police stormed a building where suspects linked to Friday's deadly terrorist attacks were believed to be holed up.
Police blocked off roads before dawn Wednesday and told residents to stay inside in Saint-Denis, a diverse, working-class area that is home to the Stade de France sports stadium where three suicide bombings took place Friday.
The situation is developing quickly, but as of mid-morning Paris time, three terrorist suspects were said by a police source to have been killed. One of them was a woman who blew herself up with a suicide belt, authorities said.
