The Paris Police
remove two bodies from apartment after French commandos 'kill ISIS leader'
during hour-long gun battle in which they fired FIVE THOUSAND rounds.
The mastermind
behind the Paris terror plot was killed during an hour-long fire fight with
French commandos following a pre-dawn raid of a flat in the nation's capital,
two senior intelligence officials say.
Abdelhamid
Abaaoud, 27, and his 26-year-old French-born cousin Hasna Aitboulahcen are
believed to be the two terrorists who died in a gun and grenade battle which
saw 5,000 rounds of ammunition fired by police. Officers were seen removing two
bodies from the apartment this afternoon.
The blonde-haired
woman, said to be Aitboulahcen, became Europe's first female suicide bomber
when she detonated her explosive vest moments after telling police 'Help
me, help me'. Another jihadi's body was found riddled with bullets when more
than 100 armed officers stormed the flat in Saint-Denis believing Abaaoud was
inside with six other terrorists, including Salah Abdeslam.
The French
authorities have still not confirmed if Abaaoud was there or if he is dead or
alive but two European intelligence officials, speaking on condition of
anonymity, told the Washington Post that
he had been killed inside the building and identified by forensic experts.
French prosecutor
Francois Molins said this evening that the two terrorists who died in the
seven-hour stand-off had not yet been identified because of the state of the
bodies. He made no mention of the claim by intelligence officials.