Paris terror plot mastermind 'is DEAD': Police remove two bodies from apartment after French commandos 'kill ISIS leader' during hour-long gun battle in which they fired FIVE THOUSAND rounds 

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The mastermind behind the Paris terror plot was killed during an hour-long firefight 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.

But he revealed that neither Abaaoud nor Salah Abdeslam, who has been on the run since Friday's attacks, were among the seven people arrested.

Security sources said earlier on Wednesday that the raid, which left five French police officers with minor injuries and a police dog dead, prevented a new ISIS double terror attack on Paris. 

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Wanted men: It has been reported the target of the police siege in Saint-Denis was Abdelhamid Abaaoud (left), thought to be the mastermind behind the Paris attacks who is said to have been killed. Salah Abdeslam (right), who has been on the run since Friday's attacks is not among those arrested according to a French prosecutor

Bodies were this afternoon removed from the flat raided by French police in Saint-Denis where Paris massacre mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, was believed to be inside with six other terrorists. The French authorities will not say if he was there or if he is dead or alive

Aftermath: A forensics squad inspects a blood-covered mattress dumped in the glass-covered street outside the Saint-Denis flat used by seven suspected terrorists 

One of the bodies is removed from inside the apartment building (left) and loaded into a hearse (right) following the seven-hour siege

Drama: The terror suspect was dragged from the building and broken glass with no trousers on - presumably in case he was wearing a suicide belt - as police trained their weapons on the flat

Forensic experts are said to have identified Abaaoud as one of the terrorists killed in the raid, according to senior intelligence officials

French prosecutor Francois Molins (pictured) said this evening that the two terrorists who died in the raid had not yet been identified because of the state of the bodies. He made no mention of the claim by intelligence officials that one of them was Abdelhamid Abaaoud

The operation was carried out after security services received a tip-off on Monday that Abaaoud was ‘on French territory’. They were led to the apartment by monitoring Aitboulahcen. 

Mr Molins said a 'new team of terrorists were neutralised' and that 'given their arms, their organisational structure and their determination' the cell was 'ready to act'. The body that had sustained a number of gunshots was 'not in a state that allows it to be identified', he said. It has been reported that the second terrorist who died was shot by police marksmen with sniper rifles.

The French prosecutor told a press conference how the ISIS terror squad who attacked Paris last Friday arrived in the city from Belgium in a convoy of three vehicles on November 12, the day before the atrocities. A VW Polo, Seat and Renault Clio used in the massacre were rented by the Abdeslam brothers in Belgium and arrived in the Paris area within ten minutes of each other.

A mobile phone was later found by police in a bin outside the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people were murdered. A text sent at 9.42pm local time read: 'We’re off and we’re starting’, but the French authorities do not know who the recipient was. 

Five of the seven terrorists who carried out last Friday's attacks have now been identified. One of the extremists who blew themselves up at the Stade de France and another at the Bataclan are yet to be named.

Batteries and bolts were found close to the bodies of the three terrorists who detonated their suicide vests near the national stadium and would have been used 'in order to worsen the effect of the explosion', Mr Molins said.

Two people were arrested and have since been charged in Belgium, the French prosecutor went on to say, and police believe they may have been on their way to pick up Salah Abdeslam - 'at his request' - to take him back to Belgium.

Mr Molins described the weapons used by the ISIS terror squad as a 'total war arsenal' including Kalashnikovs and explosive belts. In the Bataclan, Kalashnikovs and hundreds of cartridges were seized. 

It came as it emerged the blonde female suicide bomber who blew herself up screamed ‘Help me, help me’ at police moments before detonating a device as snipers opened fire, eyewitnesses claimed today.

The female terrorist, believed to be Abaaoud's cousin, has been named as French citizen Hasna Aitboulahcen. The 26-year-old is a former manager of Beko Construction, a company based to the north of Saint-Denis in Epernay-sur-Seine, which was closed in 2014.

She blew herself up during a six-hour siege where five people were taken alive and arrested. Two more suspects were held 'nearby', while bodies were this afternoon seen being removed from the apartment building.

The main building targeted in the raid was damaged so badly by the gunfire and explosions that it had to be 'propped up' and is now at risk of collapse. 

State broadcaster France 2 has claimed the group was a 'fourth unit' on top of the three who killed 129 on Friday and were planning simultaneous attacks with AK-47s and bombs on Charles de Gaulle airport and the Quatre Temps shopping centre in the city's business district, Le Défense.

The Saint-Denis siege started at 4.25am when SWAT teams and special forces surrounded the building after security services hunting for Abaaoud spent days watching flats and tapping phones. 

Mystery suspect: Hooded police officers pull a man arrested in the gun battle through crowds of other officers and soldiers as the Saint-Denis siege ended after six hours

A member of the French judicial police is pictured inspecting the apartment raided by special forces after a six-hour stand-off this morning

Threat: Soldiers guard Charles de Gaulle airport's Metro station today, left, amid fears that ISIS had planned to target the transport hub and the Quatre Temps shopping centre in the city's business district, Le Défense, also today, right

Arrests: Seven people in total have been arrested in the operation including two people away from the under siege flat, left outside a shopping centre and right near the apartment block

TIMELINE OF THE BATTLE OF SAINT-DENIS: HOW POLICE WERE MET WITH HAIL OF BULLETS AS THE SIEGE UNFOLDED

 

Elite French firearms teams fought a ferocious seven-hour battle with terror suspects in a cramped apartment block. They stormed the flat in Saint-Denis following intelligence that it was being used as a hideout by the masterminds behind the Paris massacres and that the fanatics inside were plotting another atrocity. Chris Greenwood, Emily Kent Smith and Josh White detail how the bloody drama unfolded:

04.00: Police stream into Saint-Denis where they believe terror mastermind Abdel Hamid Abaaoud is holed up. They were led there by monitoring Hasna Aitboulahcen, a French-born woman cousin of Abaaoud. They also believe that on-the-run terrorist Salah Abdeslam and a ninth attacker are among five fanatics present.

04.15: Hundreds of police marksmen, supported by military units, surround an apartment block at 8, Rue du Corbillon.

04.25: Officers from counter-terrorist unit RAID storm the building. Bullets ricochet off surrounding properties as they are met with a hail of gunfire. An explosion rocks the neighbourhood. Several officers are wounded.

Nabil Guerram, 36, who lives nearby, says: ‘I was woken with a start at 4.20am by the sound of extremely heavy gunfire. My children were crying. There was non-stop fire for 20 to 25 minutes, then calm, then it started up again for a very long time.’

05.00: Police dog Diesel is killed after she is sent in to check for suspects. A witness says she was ‘blown to pieces’ in a hail of bullets.

A woman who lives on the floor below hides in her bathroom but there are so many explosions she fears the ceiling is going to collapse. She said she heard gunfire, screaming, and people shouting ‘shoot, shoot’. She said she ran away clutching her baby.

05.30: A helicopter arrives overhead and 25 minutes later a motorcade carrying dozens of French soldiers, followed by ambulances and fire engines are seen racing towards the flat. Surrounding roads are sealed off.

Neighbour Caroline Chomienne says she was woken by shooting, adding: ‘The firing got louder and it was still going on after an hour. There was a firefight. There was shooting everywhere, but also bomb explosions.’

05.45: Residents run for their lives. Omar Dati, a 17-year-old student, said: ‘It was like a warzone. We didn’t know where to run.’

06.27: Sporadic gunfire continues to be heard, and terrified residents are warned to stay indoors. Schools remain closed and public transport is shut down.

07.00: Jawad Ben Dow, the apartment’s landlord, tells how he let ‘two men from Belgium’ use it for a few days as a favour, saying: ‘A friend asked me to put up two of his friends for a few days. I said there was no mattress.

‘They told me, “It’s not a problem”.’ They just wanted water and to pray. I was asked to do a favour, I did a favour. I didn’t know they were terrorists.’

07.30: Siege enters its third hour and seven blasts rock Saint-Denis. Visibly nervous police officers reveal several colleagues have been injured in the close-quarters fighting.

07.45: Up to 20 people, including children, are evacuated from the apartment block.

07.50: One man said he thought he would die when the shooting started and hid under his bed with his young son. ‘I was afraid,’ he said. ‘My son heard and he was crying a lot. I tried to calm him down but he was crying. The police arrived and they said, “Get out quick! This building is going to blow up”.’

08.00: Police block roads leading to Saint-Denis, shining green lasers at anyone to stop them coming too close.

09.00: A woman – believed to be Aitboulahcen – detonates a suicide belt as she pretends to give herself up. Witness Christian, 20, said the street was showered in body parts after a deafening explosion at a window.

He said: ‘I heard a woman shouting “Help, help, help me!” The police asked her to identify herself and to show herself. She showed her hands but she didn’t reveal her face. They shouted at her, “Keep your hands in the air!” They told her, “We’re going to shoot”. The shooting resumed. Suddenly there was an enormous explosion. It was probably the woman who blew herself up.’

08.30: Police confirm that a man has also been killed, believed to have been shot by one of their snipers. It is not known if Abaaoud is dead or alive. Two further police officers are injured. Explosives used by police cause an entire floor to collapse within the building.

09.00: Prosecutors announce three arrests. A man and a woman were also arrested nearby.

09.30: Police believe one last suspect remains in the apartment.

10.34: A man, naked from the waist down, and wearing a bloodied T-shirt is dragged from the building. No gunfire had been heard for two hours.

11.10: Manhunt for at least one suspect continues, as French police confirm another arrest, taking total to eight.

11.25: Further explosions as police use flash bang grenades to distract anyone left inside the apartment.

11.43: After a cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace, the government declares the seven-hour operation at an end.

13.00: Body parts are found amid the rubble outside the building which will be subjected to DNA analysis to see if they are Abaaoud.

Photographs emerge showing the force of the explosions blew window frames clean out of the walls. Sources later claim Abaaoud was killed in the battle’.

14.25: A resident, who hid with her young son, said: ‘The helicopter lit up my living room. I had to talk to someone... I came out when they said it was over.’

Kalashnikovs were being used against the security forces, but after an an hour and a half of furious exchanges, there was a lull in the fighting. 

It was then that a woman 'with long blonde hair' appeared at a third floor apartment window.

An eyewitness identified only as Christian, 20, told Le Parisien: ‘During a ten or fifteen minute lull in the shooting I heard a woman shouting: "Help, help, help me!" 

‘The police asked her to identify herself, and to show herself. She held her hands up but she didn’t reveal her face. 

‘She withdrew her hands out of sight, and then put them up again several times. 

‘The police shouted at her: "Keep your hands in the air!" They told her: “We’re going to shoot.” The shooting resumed. The police were firing from the roof of the building opposite. Suddenly there was an enormous explosion. It was probably the woman who blew herself up.

‘The windows shattered. Lots of objects from the apartment were thrown into the street, pieces of human flesh as well. They are still there. You can see a bit of the head, of skin, of ribs.’

Thibault Chaffotte, another witness, told Liberation: ‘I heard police talking about a blonde woman with long hair. I believe this was the suicide bomber. 

They told her: 'Don’t lower your arms. Put your hands in the air. Afterwards, there was a very loud explosion. I think that’s when she activated her bomb. It was big. Many of the windows in the road shattered.’

A seven-year-old sniffer dog called Diesel sent into the block to look for booby traps was killed in the blast. Another terror suspect was believed to have been killed by a police sniper.

Investigation: After the siege ended this morning a huge team of forensics started work outside the flat - marking out spent bullets with numbers next to them with a bloodied blue mattress thrown out of the window of the building (bottom of picture)

Secretive: French medics were ordered to put up sheets as some seven people arrested were transferred to Bobigny hospital. Two have been shot in the arm and are being operated on at a secure hospital in Bobigny, Paris

Walking wounded: A police officer with an injured foot is one of at least five police who have been injured in the ferocious gunfight. The terrorists also shot and killed a seven-year-old specialist police dog Diesel, sent into the block

Protection: Armed officers hidden behind a bullet proof shield on wheels, left, and others in riot gear and bullet proof vests helped end the stand-off

In their sights: Police move in on the apartment where the female suicide bomber blew herself up after firing an AK-47 machine at officers. At least one other jihadi is also dead 

Human cost: A sobbing woman, left, and a man carrying a baby in a pink coat and pyjamas, centre, are surrounded by dozens of masked and armed police evacuating residents from the siege street

Map: The raid was on a flat in the north of Paris - close to the three attacks close to the Stade de France - and not far from the shootings and suicide attacks on Bataclan and a series of bars, restaurants and cafes

Mohamed Abdeslam, the brother of two men involved in the Paris attacks, lit a candle for the victims in Molenbeek district, Brussels

Mohamed yesterday begged his brother to get in touch with authorities, after Salah Abdeslam fled and sparked an international manhunt

The stand-off ended as a bloodied and half-naked suspect was dragged out of the apartment close to the Stade de France at 10.24am.

At least five police were injured in the ferocious gunfight including one shot in the foot seen being carried from the scene. Witnesses told MailOnline their street was 'turned into a warzone' after long periods of intense machine gun fire and at least seven large explosions, caused by the suicide bomber and hand grenades. There were no hostages involved.

It came a Europe-wide alert was put out for a Citroen Xsara car that could be carrying Salah Abdeslam, the fugitive wanted in the Paris attacks, a Spanish security official said.

It was sent by Spanish authorities to border control police in the north-eastern Catalonia region next to France. The security official confirmed the document was authentic but said the bulletin was sent to authorities across Europe and not only to Spain.

As the Saint-Denis siege ended after six hours this morning it was revealed:

• Paris massacres mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, was believed to be inside the safehouse at centre of the raid;
• Police and secret services were watching several flats in Saint-Denis and had tapped phones in the area before they swooped at 4.25am;
• Operation became more important after a tip-off that the Paris terror cell were about to launch a new attack on city's business district, La Defense; 
• Two terror suspects have been killed. One was a female suicide bomber who blew herself up. French and Belgian media have reported she is Abaaoud's wife or a cousin. The other fatality was a man killed by a police sniper;
• Two of the arrested terror plotters have been shot in the arm and are being operated on at a secure hospital in Bobigny, Paris;
• Seven people have been arrested. Five were held in the flat or the 'rubble' inside apartment block and two more were held nearby;
• Five police officers were injured. A Belgian Shepherd sniffer dog called Diesel was sent in to the block and killed by the terror cell;
• French government confirms that all 129 victims of Friday's attacks have now been identified; 
• David Cameron tells MPs one Briton died – Nick Alexander - three have been released from hospital and further 15 being treated for trauma. 

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said authorities are still working to determine the fate of Abaaoud - and identify those killed and arrested. He said confirmed three suspected jihadis were held in the flat and two more 'as they tried to hide in the rubble' of the block.

He said: 'It is currently impossible to give the identify of those arrested, which is being verified. Everything will be done to work out who is who and thanks to forensics who and was in the apartment'. 

Mr Molins said police began the raid on Wednesday after gathering information that he could be in a safehouse apartment in Saint-Denis. Mr Molins said the information was collected from tapped telephone conversations, surveillance and witness accounts.

He told reporters after the operation was over that authorities are still working to determine who was inside.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve arrived in Saint-Denis and said: 'I would like to pay tribute to all those involved in the operation, 110 in total, who acted with bravery and under heavy fire in conditions that they had never experienced before.

EXCLUSIVE: ON YOUR KNEES! SHOW ME YOUR BACK! MOMENT FRENCH POLICE SWOOP ON TERROR APARTMENT

This is the dramatic moment two suspects are arrested by police during a six-hour siege on a flat where the Paris massacre mastermind and six other terrorists were were thought to be hiding.

In one video, a man is cornered by armed officers with riot shields who shout in English: 'On your knees! Show me your back!'

In other footage, a second suspect is wrestled to ground by two officers before being handcuffed behind his back.

Cornered: This is the dramatic moment a suspect is arrested by police during a six-hour siege on a flat where the Paris massacre mastermind and six other terrorists were were thought to be hiding

The suspect was cornered by officers who shout in English: 'On your knees! Show me your back!'

Both videos were captured on a mobile phone from an apartment overlooking the scene at around 6.20am, just yards from a flat where a female suicide bomber blew herself up during a six-hour siege by police hunting the masterminds behind the Paris atrocities.

The stand-off between 100 French police and special forces and the Paris terror cell ended as a bloodied and half-naked suspect was dragged out of an apartment block through broken glass in Saint-Denis - close to the Stade de France.

The gunfight started at 4.30am when SWAT teams and special forces surrounded the building believing it contained Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, the architect of the plots that killed 129 people. It is not known if he was there or if he is dead or alive. 

Small street: The siege took place on Rue du Corbillon - a narrow street linking two of Saint-Denis' main roads - where forensics teams are now gathering evidence against the terror suspects taken alive 

Rush: Police with pistols drawn rush towards the apartment block while soldiers with machine guns peer around the corner close to the siege

Terror attacks: Elite police units were also involved in the ongoing siege which saw two jihadis die, five suspects arrested with several more still hiding in a rented squat

Ready: Five hours after the siege started at around 4.30am police reinforcements continued to run down towards the flat

On high alert: Five men holed up inside the apartment were arrested, while two others were detained near the location of the raid

Huge numbers: At least 100 police officers and soldiers are understood to have taken part in the operation in northern Paris suburb of Saint Denis

Brute force: Witnesses told MailOnline said that more than 100 armed police and special forces in full battle gear were taking part in the operation to 'neutralise' the terrorists

'I would also like to pay tribute to the cool-headedness of St Denis residents. They also contributed to the success of the operation'.

Armed police appeared on a street outside the Saint-Denis flat before dawn today and then at least three trucks of soldiers and special forces arrived as back up.

Witnesses told MailOnline said there were long periods of intense machine gun fire and at least seven large explosions.

Lotfi, a 50-year-old who was in the area, said: 'I heard police officers talking to a woman with long blonde hair.

'I think she was the kamikaze. They told her not to lower her arms, to keep her hands up in the air, and then there was a massive explosion. I think that's when she detonated her bomb. It really was a very loud explosion.

'Lots of windows on the street were shattered, and then the firefight started and it was going on nonstop.'

Lofti, who would not offer his surname, said he saw a police dog called Diesel blown to pieces. The German Shepherd was there to sniff out explosives. 

One of the arrested suspects is the man who appears to have rented the flat to the terror cell.

Jawad Ben Dowt, 30, admitted in an interview near the under siege apartment on Rue de Corbillon he handed it over to two men 'who came from Belgium' two days ago.

He said: 'A friend of mine asked me to host two of his buddies for a few days.

'I said there was no mattress, they told me 'it's okay', they just wanted water and to pray. My friend said they were from Belgium.

'I was asked to a favour and I said yes. I was not aware that it was terrorists' - moments later police grabbed him and put him in handcuffs. 

A female friend of his who was also held said she stayed there last week and described it as a 'squat' and said the Belgian men arrived on Monday.

A woman living below the under-siege flat with her young baby described being 'woken up by an explosion'.

She told French broadcaster BMFTV: 'I awoke to an explosion. After that I heard gun shots and there was lots of shooting. The terrorists were fighting at the police and the police were firing back.

'There were shots, explosions. We didn't know where to go. My son and I were in panic. 

'There was dust falling from the ceiling because of the explosions. I kept shouting 'If you're from the police, please help me. I'm here with my baby. But they kept shooting and shooting'. 

Units: Teams of armed police appeared on a street outside the flat before dawn followed by several trucks of soldiers and special forces as back up

Last stand? Anti-terror police officers with bullet-proof shields take up positions behind a bar during the siege in Saint Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, as they stormed a flat containing up to six Paris massacre suspects

Fears: Armed police stop and search a man in the street near the apartment as it emerged that a female suicide bomber has blown herself up and another suspect was killed by a police sniper. There have been seven arrests so far

Armed: Police officers take up positions in Saint Denis while surrounding a flat where the Paris killers are believed to be holed up in northern Paris

Dangerous: Police using bullet-proof shields point their guns towards the sieged building as more than 100 police and special forces stormed the block. Five officers have been injured and a police dog was killed

Gun battle: There was a heavy exchange of gunfire during the operation in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis in the early hours of this morning involving specialist anti-terror units and special forces

Danger: Shots were exchanged for long periods in the large police operation in Saint-Denis which began early this morning

Operation: Police and the French army (pictured) surrounded a flat containing suspected Paris terrorists including the mastermind of the attacks

Police sources: Agence France-Presse reported that the target of the police siege in Saint-Denis is Abdelhamid Abaaoud, thought to be the mastermind behind the Paris attacks. It had been thought that he was in Syria

HERO POLICE DOG IS KILLED DURING TERRORISTS' LAST STAND 

A French anti-terror police dog named Diesel (pictured) has died after being blown up

An anti-terror police dog has died after being blown up by a female suicide bomber during a firefight with suspected ISIS militants behind the Paris massacre.

The seven-year-old Belgian Shepherd named Diesel was killed during a raid by up to 100 police and soldiers on a flat in the French capital this morning.

A witness said Diesel, who is trained to sniff out explosives, was blown to pieces when a jihadi bride came out firing her AK-47 at police before detonating her suicide vest.

Tributes quickly poured in to the respected canine, with one police handler saying: 'It's a little like losing one our colleagues.'

One Twitter user said Diesel had 'died to defend our colours'.

The official profile for Police Nationale tweeted that Diesel 'was killed by terrorists in the current operation in Saint-Denis'.

The force said that 'assault and explosives' search dogs are indispensable to the work of the French anti-terror unit known as RAID.

Benson Hoi, 29, a software engineer, lives just 100 metres away from the apartment which is under siege and was woken up by the sound of gunfire at around 4am this morning.

He says he is terrified one of the suspects may blow themselves up, hitting the residents hiding in the surrounding apartments.

Mr Hoi told MailOnline: 'I am right next to the scene and at the moment I can see about 100 police officers, soldiers and at least 50 police cars.'

He said he initially thought fireworks were going off when he was woken by the sound of gunfire, but when he checked Twitter he realised what was happening outside his home.

He said: 'After about 15 minutes of panicking I decided to live stream what was happening outside so the world could see what was happening. Police were telling people to stay away from their windows so i left my phone on the window sill.

'I can still hear police shouting on the street now. I heard seven explosions a few minutes ago.

'At first some people were leaving their apartments to see what was going on, and the police chucked them back into their apartments.'

He said they have not been told anything else, and police are eurging residents to remain inside away from their windows and doors.

He said: 'I'm still worrying for my life. If those people are suicide bombers I'm not exactly safe.

'For the sake of common sense I'm staying away from the windows, but I do not feel safe.'  

Baptiste Marie, a 26-year-old journalist who lives near the scene of the stand-off, said: 'It started with an explosion. Then there was second big explosion. Then two more explosions. There was an hour of gunfire'. 

Riot police were clearing the streets early Wednesday, pointing guns at curious residents to move them off the roads and telling them to go home.

Mr Marie said the officers seemed nervous - 'you could see it in their eyes, ' he said.  

Residents said they were first woken by an explosion which shook the neighbourhood at about 4am (3am GMT) as police surrounded the flat, although it is not known what led them to the building.

Witnesses say this was followed by an hour of automatic gunfire and explosions as an intense firefight ensued between police and the suspects holed up in the apartment.

Neighbour Amine Guizani said: 'They were shooting for an hour. Nonstop. There were grenades. It was going, stopping. Kalashnikovs. Starting again.'

Teams of armed police appeared on a street outside the Saint-Denis flat before dawn today and then at least three trucks of soldiers and special forces arrived as back up.  

Stay away: Residents have been told to hide their homes and away from windows and some were also been evacuated

Swathes of officers: A special armed response unit took part in the raid and several police officers have been hurt

First of the scene: These officers were among the first to face the terrorists after days of surveillance on the flat 

Forst light: French special police forces secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis before dawn this morning

Defence: Armed police and a police helicopter have secured the area surrounding the apartment where a group of six were thought to have barricaded themselves in

Police cordoned off the area nearby, including a pedestrian zone lined with shops and 19th-century apartment buildings, and cleared people from the streets, pointing guns at curious residents to move them off the roads.

VOICE BEHIND CHILLING ISIS MESSAGE IS ALSO A FRENCHMAN 

The voice of a jihadist claiming Islamic State's responsibility for last week's attacks in Paris has been identified as a 36 year-old Frenchmen authorities believe is now in Syria. 

Fabien Clain, pictured, from Toulouse, reads out a pre-written statement already published earlier this week claiming the attacks that killed 129 people and injured more than 350.

Half of the six-minute audio includes a man giving a rallying cry with music in the background calling for Muslims to 'move forward' to fight the infidels 'without ever capitulating'. 

Clain was suspected of orchestrating a foiled attack on at least one French church in April and said he was a close friend of al-Qaeda inspired gunman Mohammed Merah, who killed seven people in March 2012.

It added that he was sentenced to five years in prison in 2009 for having led a recruitment network to send jihadis to Iraq and left France after his release.

Sporadic bangs and blast continued and at 7.30am French time at least seven explosions shook the centre of Saint-Denis.

A woman who may be Abaaoud's wife is said to have fired her AK-47 at police before blowing herself up with a suicide vest as an assault squad stormed the apartment block.  The siege ended at 10.34am.

Residents have been told to stay in their homes and away from windows and some have been moved to a temporary shelter in the town hall. Police have confirmed that several officers have been hurt. 

Caroline Chomienne, who runs a film school, Altermedia, in St Denis, was trapped in the building next to where the assault took place.

'We'd been working all night on a film and my staff had been gone for some time when around 4.20am I heard shooting. Then they became louder and for on an hour it went on - bursts of fire from all sides but also sounds like bombs going off.

'The walls were shaking it was horrific. It was like war. It was Beirut.'

Now the director is thinking of quitting Paris.

'Something like this doesn't surprise me,' she told Le Parisien, 'that terrorists have hidden here. In this district the cellars are full of weapons. Outside there is a dealer every 100mtrs. It's common knowledge around here that people go and come back from Syria with ease. The past year the atmosphere has been awful in the street...it's very hard.'

Since the school was established in 1996 in the centre of Saint-Denis, the area has deteriorated added Caroline.

'At first there was a real mix here, but in recent years people have just been leaving and the handful of young couples who arrive are horrified. After this morning I think we'll have to leave. I don't know if anyone will even come in to work today', she said. 

BFMTV and iTele both showed amateur video of the shootings and cited witnesses in the area saying they had heard sporadic gunfire since around 4.30am.

Omar Dati, a 17-year-old student who lives in the area, said: 'Everybody could hear the shooting very early on. It was like a warzone – the soldiers were dressed in battle gear.

'The explosions were very loud indeed and we were all terrified we would be shot. We didn't know where to run.'

'OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH ALL THE FRIENDS AND FANS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN PARIS': BATACLAN BAND EAGLES OF DEATH METAL PAY TRIBUTE TO 89 DEAD AND CANCELS ALL UPCOMING SHOWS 

Shocking: Fans watch the Eagles of Death Metal at the Bataclan in the minutes before the ISIS terror cell stormed the venue and killed 89 people. The band today paid tribute to those who lost their lives

The Eagles of Death Metal, the band playing the Bataclan concert hall when it was stormed by ISIS terrorists, have today paid tribute to the 89 fans who died last Friday night.

The group, who are back in the United States, have cancelled all upcoming gigs as a result of the massacre.

Photos of the band on stage capture the seconds before and the attack started, throwing themselves out of the way of flying bullets, and later looking shell-shocked  outside the venue.

They said in a statement: 'While the band is now home safe, we are horrified and still trying to come to terms with what happened in France. Our thoughts and hearts are first and foremost with our brother Nick Alexander, our record company comrades Thomas Ayad, Marie Mosser, and Manu Perez, and all the friends and fans whose lives were taken in Paris, as well as their friends, families, and loved ones.

'Although bonded in grief with the victims, the fans, the families, the citizens of Paris, and all those affected by terrorism, we are proud to stand together, with our new family, now united by a common goal of love and compassion.

'We would like to thank the French police, the FBI, the U.S. and French State Departments, and especially all those at ground zero with us who helped each other as best they could during this unimaginable ordeal, proving once again that love overshadows evil.

'All EODM shows are on hold until further notice.

'Vive la musique, vive la liberté, vive la France, and vive EODM'.

Shock: A police official says there have been exchanges of gunfire and special SWAT teams are on the scene, which has been blocked off by dozens of police cars and vans

Guard: An armed police officer stands outside the apartment block as the siege continues in Saint Denis

Raid: French media reports the raid is part of an ongoing operation to catch the ninth suspect involved in Friday night's terror attacks in the French capital, who is thought to be on the run

PARIS MASSACRE: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR ABOUT THE DEADLIEST TERROR ATTACK TO HIT EUROPE IN A DECADE 

At least 129 people are dead, and another 352 injured, after three teams of jihadis struck the Stade de France football stadium, a handful of bars and cafes, and then finally the Bataclan concert hall.

FIRST TWO ATTACKS: STADE DE FRANCE

• The attacks began at 9.20pm at the Stade de France where the French football team was hosting Germany in an international friendly.
• The game was being watched by 80,000 spectators, among them was President Francois Hollande who had to be evacuated from the stadium. 
• Ahmed Almohammad, 25, from Syria approached the stadium with a match ticket. He was turned away from Gate D after being frisked by a security guard.
• He backed away from the gate and detonated his vest, killing one other person. A passport was found near his body.
• A second suicide bomber, Bilal Hadfi, 20, blew himself up near Gate H at 9.30pm. No one else was reported killed. Hadfi is said to have fought with ISIS in Syria.

THIRD ATTACK: LE PETIT CAMBODGE AND LE CARILLON BAR

• At 9.25pm a separate team of gunmen arrived in a Black Seat and attacked diners at popular Cambodian restaurant Le Petit Cambodge and Le Carillon bar in the trendy Canal Saint-Martin area of eastern Paris, killing 15. The gunmen were using Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles. 

Timeline of events: Eight terrorists carried out the devastating attacks on Friday night, leaving 129 people dead and another 352 injured

FOURTH ATTACK: LA CASA NOSTRA PIZZERIA AND LA BELLE EQUIPE BAR

• The same unit then drove about 500 yards to La Casa Nostra pizzeria and opened fire on diners on the terrace of the restaurant, killing at least five people.
• From there, the militants drove around a mile south-east – apparently past the area of the Bataclan concert venue – to launch another attack, this time on La Belle Equipe bar in Rue de Charonne. At least 19 people died after the terrace was sprayed with bullets at 9.36pm The attackers then drove off.

FIFTH ATTACK: CAFÉ 'COMPTOIR VOLTAIRE'

• At 9.40pm, Ibrahim Abdeslam, also known as Brahim, 31, set off a suicide vest inside cafe 'Comptoir Voltaire' on the Boulevard Voltaire and close to the Bataclan theatre. He hired a black Seat car used in the attack, which was found later abandoned with three assault rifles, along with five full magazines. The killers had emptied 11 magazines, firing an estimated 330 rounds. 

SIXTH ATTACK: BATACLAN MUSIC HALL

• At 9.40pm, the third group (believed to be three men and a woman) armed with AK-47s stormed the Bataclan music hall and began shooting members of the crowd. Survivors claim three blew themselves up and a fourth person was shot dead by police before they could detonate their bomb.

SEVENTH ATTACK: NEAR STADE DE FRANCE

• At around 10.15pm a third blast took place near the Stade de France, this time by a McDonald's restaurant on the fringes of the stadium. The boom caused terror among spectators who had already been attempting to flee the stadium following the first two explosions. The attacker who detonated his suicide vest was identified as a 20-year-old French man living in Belgium.

Tearful members of the public view flowers and tributes on the pavement near the scene of the concert hall massacre on Friday

AFTERMATH:

• On Saturday morning, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks across Paris, saying 'eight brothers wearing explosive belts and carrying assault rifles' conducted a 'blessed attack on... Crusader France'.
• On Saturday morning, the world's most wanted man, Salah Abdeslam is stopped by French police along with two other men as he approached the Belgian border. He is released after he shows his ID and returns to the Jihadi hotspot of Molenbeek in Brussels where he vanishes.
• Belgian police launch several anti-terror raids after Abdeslam was identified as having rented a VW Polo used by the Bataclan killers which was found abandoned nearby.  
• One of the Stade de France suspects was found carrying a Syrian passport under the name Ahmed Almohammad who travelled to France as a migrant through Greece on October 3. Ferry tickets reveal he travelled with another man named as Mohammed Almuhamed.
• However, the French minister of justice Christiane Taubira said on Sunday that the passport under the name Ahmed Almohammad was a fake.
• Omar Ismaël Mostefai, 29, from Courcouronnes, Paris was also named as a Bataclan suicide bomber. The petty criminal and father-of-one was known to police as a radical and had travelled to Algeria and Syria. He was identified by the fingerprint on a severed digit found after he detonated his suicide belt. 
• Mostefai is believed to have been radicalised by a Belgian hate preacher of Moroccan descent claimed to have regularly preached at his mosque in South West France. His father, a brother and other family members have been held and are being questioned. 
• The black Seat Leon used by the terrorists who murdered diners outside the Casa Nostra pizza restaurant and the La Belle Équipe cafe was found abandoned 20 minutes away in Montreuil with three AK-47s and 16 magazines - 11 of them empty.
• Seven people were detained in Belgium linked to the atrocities. Five are from the Molenbeek area of Brussels known as a 'den of terrorists'.
• Five of those arrested, including Salah and Ibrahim Abdeslams' brother Mohamed have been released without charge. Two others have been charged with unspecified terrorist offences.  
• Iraqi spies warned the West of an ISIS suicide bomber threat the day before the Paris atrocities, it was revealed on Sunday, as more details of major intelligence failures began to emerge. The US-led coalition in Syria was apparently told by Iraqi security sources that 24 extremists were involved in the terror operation planned in the ISIS capital Raqqa and it would involve 19 attackers including five others including bombmakers and planners. No detail was given of when or where an attack might take place.
• It has also emerged that Turkey's authorities foiled a plot to stage a 'Jihadi John revenge attack' in Istanbul - involving a high-profile British jihadist - on the same day as the deadly massacre in Paris.
• From as far back as August, France's authorities possessed information that militants were said to be planning attacks on French concert halls after a tip-off was received from a 30-year-old man who was detained on his way back from Syria.
• On Sunday night there were 42 people still said to be in intensive care in hospital following Friday's terrorist attacks. 

Thousands lined the streets of Paris on Monday for a minute's silence to remember those killed in a wave of attacks on the city on Friday

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:  

• French and Belgian police are still hunting for three gunmen on the run, including Abdeslam, and an ISIS bombmaker likely to have made the suicide vests.
• An international arrest warrant has been issued for Abdeslam, 26, who is accused of renting a Volkswagen Polo used by the suicide bombers.
• It emerged on Sunday night that police found Abdeslam near the Belgian border early Saturday but let him go after he showed them his ID card. Officers pulled over the car being driven by Abdeslam on Saturday morning on the A2 motorway between Paris and Brussels. Two other men were also in the car. 
• At the time, officers in Paris knew that Abdeslam had rented the car used by the killers which had been abandoned near the theatre but the information had not been transmitted to those responsible for conducting the border checks.
• On Sunday evening the French defence ministry announced that the country's warplanes had bombed Islamic State's stronghold in Syria's Raqa, destroying a command post and a training camp. Ten fighter jets were involved, dropping 20 bombs.
• French and Belgian police conducted 168 pre-dawn anti-terror raids on Monday, including a botched attempt to capture Abdeslam, who is still on the run. The raids took place at addresses in Brussels, Toulouse, Lyon, Grenoble, Calais and two suburbs of Paris. A rocket launcher, flak jackets, several pistols and a Kalashnikov assault rifle were among the cache of weapons seized in Lyon overnight.
• French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 104 people had been placed under house arrest, while 23 suspects were detained for questioning.
• The mastermind behind the Paris terror attacks is named as one of ISIS' top executioners, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, who even recruited his 13-year-old brother to fight with him in Syria. 
• ISIS issue a chilling new video warning that countries taking part in air strikes against Syria will suffer the same fate as Paris and claimed they will attack Washington D.C. next. 
• French police have discovered a safe house used by the terror gang in the Bobigny suburb of Paris rented three days before the attack.
• The Royal Air Force has stuck ISIS targets in northern Iraq as the French continue their air strikes against the Jihadi stronghold of Raqqa, Syria. 

Sick taunts of the Paris mastermind: Abdelhamid Abaaoud boasted of freely crossing Europe's borders to plot atrocities – even after being arrested and with 'my name and picture all over the news'

The mastermind of the Paris massacres previously bragged about travelling across Europe at will to plot atrocities – even after being arrested. 

Belgian extremist Abdelhamid Abaaoud is one of the top recruiters for ISIS now among the world's most wanted war criminals after orchestrating the Paris attacks that killed 129 people. 

Despite being on wanted lists, he has shuttled between Syria and Europe, exploiting the migrant crisis on EU borders.

The 27-year-old has been able to plan two atrocities and brainwash hundreds of young men to join Islamic State, including his 13-year-old brother.

Kingpin: Abaaoud fled Belgium for Syria and has become an ISIS executioner, recruiter and trainer and one of the world's most wanted men

Sick: Bodies of Abaaoud's victims in Syria are pictured tied to the extremist's truck, seconds before he drives away and drags them along

Abaaoud was also seen driving a pick-up truck with a mound of bloody corpses in tow. One of his accomplices sits perched on the back, while another can be heard complaining about the smell.

He told an ISIS propaganda magazine he was arrested in Europe in January preparing a mission to kill civilians and behead policemen. Incredibly, he claims he was not detained.

'My name and picture were all over the news yet I was able to stay in their homeland, plan operations against them and leave safely when doing so became necessary,' he said.

His earlier plot – in January in the eastern Belgian city of Verviers – was thwarted when police raided the terrorists' hideout, killing two suspects.

Abaaoud was not found and is thought to have been in Turkey or Greece directing the pair by phone.

Police found four Kalashnikovs, four handguns, ammunition and explosives during the raid as well as a police radio and uniforms.

Two days later, officials in Athens announced they had captured Abaaoud but he had given them the slip. 

Describing his return to Belgium for the beheading plot, he said he and his fellow fanatics faced a number of trials but 'were able to obtain weapons and set up a safe house while we planned to carry out operations'.

He added: 'After the raid on the safe house, they figured out that I had been with the brothers and that we had been planning operations together.

'So they gathered intelligence agents from all over the world – from Europe and America – in order to detain me. I was able to leave and come to Syria despite being chased after by so many intelligence agencies. 

All this proves that a Muslim should not fear the bloated image of the crusader intelligence.'

Abaaoud is pictured left in a still from the video, while a fellow ISIS extremist is seen right. The pair are seen in the depraved video footage

Abaaoud, who has regularly posed with bodies he decapitated and was seen in Greece in January but evaded arrest, was also linked to the thwarted high speed train attack earlier this year and church attacks around Paris. He is pictured dragging the bodies of victims in Syria

The brothers he recruited – Brahim and Salah Abdeslam – took part in the cafe and restaurant attacks on Friday night.

Brahim, 31, blew himself up in the Comptoir Voltaire bar while Salah, 26, is the subject of an international manhunt. He was stopped by police on the Belgian border but not detained.

The fanatics grew up in the now notorious Molenbeek district of Brussels, a hotbed of radical Islam. 

Abaaoud's father Omar ran a clothes shop just a few doors down from the Abdeslam family home in the main square in Molenbeek.

Benollal Mohamet, who runs a pharmacy there, said: 'He would have known the Abdeslam brothers, they were the same age, they lived near each other – it was inevitable that their paths would have crossed. I would never have predicted this.'

Abaaoud attended one of Brussels' most prestigious schools – Collège Saint-Pierre – but he fell into trouble with the law and was jailed for theft. It is claimed he was then radicalised in Saint Gilles prison in southern Brussels and went to Syria to join IS.

In August he was linked to the terrorist behind a failed attack on a high-speed train from Brussels to Paris.

His father had reported him to police after his youngest son, 13-year-old Younes, went missing last year.

In an interview in January he told of his shame, saying his son had ruined his family. 'Why in God's name would he want to kill innocent Belgians? Our family owes everything to this country,' he added.

In July, Abaaoud was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison for recruiting ISIS fighters to Syria. Many of the 32 people charged with him remain at large.

Belgian authorities refused to comment on Abaaoud's whereabouts last night – he is believed to be in Syria – or his claim that he had been stopped by police and let go. 

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the world's most wanted war criminals, is pictured taking aim with a rifle in a photo taken earlier this year

In a video released last year he said: 'All my life, I have seen the blood of Muslims flow. Pray that Allah will break the backs of those who oppose him, his soldiers and his admirers, and that he will exterminate them.'

Another video shows him loading a pick-up truck and a makeshift trailer with a mound of bloodied corpses. 

Trying to recruit others, he says: 'Are you satisfied with the life you lead, a humiliating life, whether you are in Europe, in Africa, in Arab countries or in America? Are you satisfied with this life, with this life of humiliation? Is there anything better than jihad or a martyr?'

It was claimed that Abaaoud and Salah Abdeslam once carried out a robbery together. Belgian broadcaster RTL said Salah had spent time in prison in Belgium for 'hold-ups' and the name of Abaaoud figured in the court and police documents relating to the case.

According to the De Standaard newspaper, Abaaoud is also mentioned in files relating to Brahim Abdeslam for alleged crimes carried out in Brussels in 2010 and 2011.

Abaaoud even featured in an online ISIS terror magazine Dabiq featuring his life as a Jihadi.

According to the interview, he traveled to Syria 'to terrorise the crusaders waging war against the Muslims'.

He said: 'Belgium is a member of the crusader coalition attacking the Muslims of Iraq and Sham (Syria).

Abaaoud claimed that in the past he returned to Belgium to set up a safe house to plan further raids across Europe.

He said his plot failed: 'The kuffar raided the pace with more than 150 soldiers from both French and Belgian special forces units.' He said both of his men were killed in the shootout.

He claimed it was after this, he returned to Syria due to the attentions of European security agencies.

French police have said Abaaoud planned the attack from his base in Syria with help in Belgium and France.

Abaaoud, who has regularly posed with bodies he decapitated and was seen in Greece in January but evaded arrest, was also linked to the thwarted high speed train attack earlier this year and church attacks around Paris.