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| St-Denis shootout: police injured in hunt for 'mastermind' of Paris attacks | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least one policeman has been injured in a shootout during an ongoing police raid targeting the alleged mastermind of Friday’s terror attacks. | At least one policeman has been injured in a shootout during an ongoing police raid targeting the alleged mastermind of Friday’s terror attacks. |
| Citing police sources, BFMTV said the main target of the police operation in St-Denis, a town bordering Paris, was the suspected mastermind, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, believed to have been in Syria but now apparently in France. | |
| The other two men in holed up in the apartment block were believed to be Salah Abdeslam, the subject of a major manhunt since Saturday, and an unidentified “ninth attacker” sought since Tuesday night. | |
| A BFMTV reporter at the scene said the gunfire had now stopped after a battle that continued for more than two hours, since about 4.30am, at an apartment block on the rue Gabriel Péri, near key shopping areas and residential streets. | |
| Neighbours who had opened their windows have been ordered to close them. BFMTV reported that a passerby might have been injured. The metro is closed and buses in the area are shut down. Locals are being advised not to leave their homes. | Neighbours who had opened their windows have been ordered to close them. BFMTV reported that a passerby might have been injured. The metro is closed and buses in the area are shut down. Locals are being advised not to leave their homes. |
| It is not known whether the “massive” police operation, had succeeded in capturing them, whether they were injured, or whether negotiations were underway. | It is not known whether the “massive” police operation, had succeeded in capturing them, whether they were injured, or whether negotiations were underway. |
| Related: Paris attacks: 'heavy gunfire' in suburb of St-Denis as police hunt suspects – live | Related: Paris attacks: 'heavy gunfire' in suburb of St-Denis as police hunt suspects – live |
| A police source told French newspaper Le Monde that possibly two men were dead and a potential third, but it was unconfirmed because the assault was still taking place. The nature of the policemen’s injuries are not known. | A police source told French newspaper Le Monde that possibly two men were dead and a potential third, but it was unconfirmed because the assault was still taking place. The nature of the policemen’s injuries are not known. |
| Video reportedly posted from the scene shows men, with their faces covered, carrying automatic weapons and walking down otherwise deserted streets, lit by streetlights. | Video reportedly posted from the scene shows men, with their faces covered, carrying automatic weapons and walking down otherwise deserted streets, lit by streetlights. |
| The men are not firing, but the sound of continual automatic gunfire can be heard in the background. Didier Paillard, the mayor of St-Denis, said about 6am he could still hear exchanges of fire. “It has not stopped since 4:30,” he said. | The men are not firing, but the sound of continual automatic gunfire can be heard in the background. Didier Paillard, the mayor of St-Denis, said about 6am he could still hear exchanges of fire. “It has not stopped since 4:30,” he said. |
| The police raid is linked to the hunt for the so-called “ninth attacker” – a jihadi whose involvement in Friday’s terror attacks was previously unknown to investigators before CCTV was found to show the person firing a weapon from a car with other attackers. | The police raid is linked to the hunt for the so-called “ninth attacker” – a jihadi whose involvement in Friday’s terror attacks was previously unknown to investigators before CCTV was found to show the person firing a weapon from a car with other attackers. |
| St-Denis is a town near the Stade de France stadium, which was the target of suicide bombers in Friday night’s attacks. The apartment under siege is about a mile-and-a-half (2.5km) from the stadium, in a densely populated area in the centre of Saint-Denis | St-Denis is a town near the Stade de France stadium, which was the target of suicide bombers in Friday night’s attacks. The apartment under siege is about a mile-and-a-half (2.5km) from the stadium, in a densely populated area in the centre of Saint-Denis |
| Europe and America are on critical alert for further terror attacks after two Air France planes were diverted mid-flight because of security threats, “concrete evidence” emerged of a planned attack on German soil, and police revealed a possible “ninth attacker” was involved in the Paris atrocities and still on the run. | Europe and America are on critical alert for further terror attacks after two Air France planes were diverted mid-flight because of security threats, “concrete evidence” emerged of a planned attack on German soil, and police revealed a possible “ninth attacker” was involved in the Paris atrocities and still on the run. |
| Five days on from the Paris attacks, Two Air France flights to Paris from the US were diverted to domestic airfields mid-flight after security threats. | Five days on from the Paris attacks, Two Air France flights to Paris from the US were diverted to domestic airfields mid-flight after security threats. |
| Air France flight AF55 flying to Charles de Gaulle airport from Washington DC was diverted to Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada, due to an anonymous security threat. | Air France flight AF55 flying to Charles de Gaulle airport from Washington DC was diverted to Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada, due to an anonymous security threat. |
| Minutes later, flight AF65 from Los Angeles to the same airport was diverted to Salt Lake City reportedly because of a bomb threat, made by phone by somebody on the ground. | Minutes later, flight AF65 from Los Angeles to the same airport was diverted to Salt Lake City reportedly because of a bomb threat, made by phone by somebody on the ground. |
| Air France confirmed both planes were grounded after they were the “subjects of anonymous threats received after their respective take-offs”. The airline and the FBI are investigating both incidents. | Air France confirmed both planes were grounded after they were the “subjects of anonymous threats received after their respective take-offs”. The airline and the FBI are investigating both incidents. |
| Police in France believe it is possible another, previously unnoticed, terrorist, could still be at large, after reviewing CCTV footage of the Paris attacks that showed a third man in the black Seat car involved in the attack on bars in central Paris. | Police in France believe it is possible another, previously unnoticed, terrorist, could still be at large, after reviewing CCTV footage of the Paris attacks that showed a third man in the black Seat car involved in the attack on bars in central Paris. |
| The footage shows three men in the car – not two as previously believed – opening fire with assault rifles on patrons at Le Petit Cambodge and Le Carillon bars in the 10th arrondissement. | The footage shows three men in the car – not two as previously believed – opening fire with assault rifles on patrons at Le Petit Cambodge and Le Carillon bars in the 10th arrondissement. |
| The men killed 15 people in that assault, before, it is believed, driving on to the 11th arrondissement and slaughtering patrons at Le Casa Nostra cafe, killing another five people, and then Restaurant La Belle Equippe, killing a further 19. | The men killed 15 people in that assault, before, it is believed, driving on to the 11th arrondissement and slaughtering patrons at Le Casa Nostra cafe, killing another five people, and then Restaurant La Belle Equippe, killing a further 19. |
| The car was later found abandoned in Montreuil, with several AK-47s inside. | The car was later found abandoned in Montreuil, with several AK-47s inside. |
| On the same night, three jihadis died at the Stade de France, and three at the Bataclan theatre. Should the existence of this new terrorist be confirmed, it would bring the number of attackers to nine, with two still yet to be apprehended. | On the same night, three jihadis died at the Stade de France, and three at the Bataclan theatre. Should the existence of this new terrorist be confirmed, it would bring the number of attackers to nine, with two still yet to be apprehended. |
| The terrorist known to still be at large is 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam, who was last seen heading back to Belgium, and may also have been in the Seat car during the attacks. | The terrorist known to still be at large is 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam, who was last seen heading back to Belgium, and may also have been in the Seat car during the attacks. |
| Salah’s 31-year-old brother Ibrahim is believed to have been another of the men in the Seat car during the attacks. He blew himself up on Boulevard Voltaire. | Salah’s 31-year-old brother Ibrahim is believed to have been another of the men in the Seat car during the attacks. He blew himself up on Boulevard Voltaire. |
| In Hanover, Germany, a football friendly between the national side and the Netherlands in Hanover was abruptly cancelled 90 minutes before kick-off, after “concrete evidence” of a bomb plot emerged. | In Hanover, Germany, a football friendly between the national side and the Netherlands in Hanover was abruptly cancelled 90 minutes before kick-off, after “concrete evidence” of a bomb plot emerged. |
| “It was an extremely tough decision to cancel the match, which was made after many pieces of information indicated a concrete threat,” the German foreign minister, Thomas De Maizière, said. | “It was an extremely tough decision to cancel the match, which was made after many pieces of information indicated a concrete threat,” the German foreign minister, Thomas De Maizière, said. |
| Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, was due to attend the match but had not reached the stadium. She was flown back to Berlin when the terror threat was announced. | Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, was due to attend the match but had not reached the stadium. She was flown back to Berlin when the terror threat was announced. |
| Earlier, De Maizière told a media conference the security situation in Germany was critical and the chances of an attack on German soil “very high”. | Earlier, De Maizière told a media conference the security situation in Germany was critical and the chances of an attack on German soil “very high”. |
| As investigations into the planning, execution, and aftermath of the Paris attacks continue, further details of the three co-ordinated assaults continue to emerge, including: | As investigations into the planning, execution, and aftermath of the Paris attacks continue, further details of the three co-ordinated assaults continue to emerge, including: |
| While investigations, raids, and arrests over the Paris attacks continue across Europe, French, Russian, British and US warplanes have bombed Isis targets in both Syria and Iraq. | While investigations, raids, and arrests over the Paris attacks continue across Europe, French, Russian, British and US warplanes have bombed Isis targets in both Syria and Iraq. |
| In France’s second wave of airstrikes in 24 hours, 10 French warplanes dropped 16 bombs on a command and recruitment centre for jihadis in Raqqa. | In France’s second wave of airstrikes in 24 hours, 10 French warplanes dropped 16 bombs on a command and recruitment centre for jihadis in Raqqa. |
| The British Ministry of Defence said RAF Tornado bombers had targeted a group of more than 20 Isis terrorists in northern Iraq. | The British Ministry of Defence said RAF Tornado bombers had targeted a group of more than 20 Isis terrorists in northern Iraq. |
| Meanwhile, Moscow, at odds with the west over how to intervene in Syria, is allied in seeking retribution against Isis. | Meanwhile, Moscow, at odds with the west over how to intervene in Syria, is allied in seeking retribution against Isis. |
| Russia’s president, Vladmir Putin, has promised to “find and punish” those responsible for the downing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula which killed 224 people, almost all of them Russian citizens. | Russia’s president, Vladmir Putin, has promised to “find and punish” those responsible for the downing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula which killed 224 people, almost all of them Russian citizens. |
| An Isis branch, Sinai Province, has claimed responsibility for putting a bomb on board the plane. | An Isis branch, Sinai Province, has claimed responsibility for putting a bomb on board the plane. |
| Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said, in retaliation, Russian jets had hit militant positions in Syria’s Idlib and Aleppo provinces with cruise missiles, while bombers hit Isis targets in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. | Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said, in retaliation, Russian jets had hit militant positions in Syria’s Idlib and Aleppo provinces with cruise missiles, while bombers hit Isis targets in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. |