What we know about the anti-terror raid in Saint Denis

Anti-terror police and special forces carried out raids in the Parisian suburb of Saint Denis on Wednesday. Here is what we know so far.

  • Where did the raids take place?

Saint Denis is a suburb in northern Paris, around six miles from the city centre and near the Stade de France, the country's national stadium, outside which suicide bombers blew themselves up on Friday.

Saint Denis is a northern suburb of Paris. Credit: Google Maps

The focus of the raids was on an apartment building in Rue du Cornillon. Police were also seen entering a nearby church.

  • Why are police targeting this area?

The raid was understood to have targeted Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian IS militant suspected of masterminding last week's Paris attacks.

He was initially thought to have pulled the strings from Syria, but was then believed to be among a group of people holed up in the apartment.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud was understood to be the main target of the raid. Credit: Reuters

  • What happened in the raid?

French police and security forces arrived at the scene at around 4.20am. Around 110 members of special forces were involved in the operation.

Shortly after their arrival there was an outbreak of gunfire.

Roads around the area were sealed off and residents were warned to stay indoors.

Over the course of the siege, several explosions and bursts of gunfire were heard.

It is thought that at least two suspects were killed, including a woman who blew herself up, and a number of police officers injured. A police dog also died during the raid.

The siege was confirmed to have come to an end at around 11.50am local time (10.50 GMT). At around the same time, police were seen breaking into a nearby church. It was not initially clear who or what they were looking for.

In total, eight people are known to have been arrested.

  • Timeline of events (all times local)

Police were seen breaking into a church near the scene of the main siege. Credit: Reuters

  • What was the outcome of the raid?

Eight people were arrested in total during the raids, while at least two were killed, the Paris prosecutor said.

In a press conference, Francois Molins said officials were still trying to establish the fate of Abaaoud, adding that he was not among those detained.

Two of the people arrested were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and were undergoing operations on Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier reports suggest the two people killed were a man and a woman - the latter of which was believed to have detonated a suicide vest duing the siege.