PARIS - The suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks was killed Wednesday in a massive pre-dawn raid by French police commandos, two senior European officials said, after investigators followed leads that the fugitive Islamic State militant was holed up north of the French capital and could be plotting another wave of violence.
More than 100 police officers and soldiers stormed an apartment building in Saint-Denis, a bustling suburb home to many immigrants, during a seven-hour siege that left at least two people dead, officials said. The dead included the suspected overseer of the Paris bloodshed, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, according to the two senior European officials. Abaaoud, a Belgian extremist, had once boasted that he could slip easily between Europe and strongholds of the Islamic State militant group in Syria.
Paris prosecutor François Molins, speaking to reporters hours after the siege, said he could not provide the identities of the people killed at the scene. A French security official declined to confirm or deny that Abaaoud had died. U.S. officials said they were awaiting confirmation of the identities of those slain.
The two European officials from different countries, who have followed the case closely, said they had received the information about Abaaoud's death from French authorities. The two officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
It was not immediately clear how Abaaoud died - whether in police gunfire, by his own hand or in a suicide blast triggered by a woman in the apartment.
PARIS - The
suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks was killed Wednesday in a
massive pre-dawn raid by French police commandos, two senior European
officials said, after investigators followed leads that the fugitive
Islamic State militant was holed up north of the French capital and
could be plotting another wave of violence.
More than 100 police officers and soldiers stormed an apartment
building in Saint-Denis, a bustling suburb home to many immigrants,
during a seven-hour siege that left at least two people dead, officials
said. The dead included the suspected overseer of the Paris bloodshed,
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, according to the two senior European officials.
Abaaoud, a Belgian extremist, had once boasted that he could slip easily
between Europe and strongholds of the Islamic State militant group in
Syria.
Paris prosecutor François Molins, speaking to reporters hours after
the siege, said he could not provide the identities of the people killed
at the scene. A French security official declined to confirm or deny
that Abaaoud had died. U.S. officials said they were awaiting
confirmation of the identities of those slain.
The two European officials from different countries, who have
followed the case closely, said they had received the information about
Abaaoud's death from French authorities. The two officials spoke on the
condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
It was not immediately clear how Abaaoud died - whether in police
gunfire, by his own hand or in a suicide blast triggered by a woman in
the apartment.
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