Paris police raid: Attack 'mastermind' not among seven in custody after shoot-out and suicide bomb explosion that left two suspects dead
Gunfire rocks Saint Denis suburb as special armed response unit hunt for 'mastermind' of Friday's brutal attacks
The "mastermind" believed to be behind Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris was not among those captured in a police raid and shootout on Wednesday, and nor was it clear if he was one of the two suspects killed.
Police had targeted the suspected planner of the attacks, 27-year-old Abdelhamid Abaaoud, as well as a ninth fugitive connected to the attack.
Wednesday's raid came after footage from the scene of one of Paris attacks revealed a ninth suspect, identified as Salah Abdeslam, may have taken part. It is known that seven were killed in the carnage on Friday, most after detonating suicide belts.
Abaaoud is an Islamic State fighter who was previously thought to be in Syria after fleeing raids in his native Belgium earlier this year.
Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the identities of the dead were still being investigated, but that neither Abaoud nor the fugitive attacker Abdeslam was in custody.
“At this time, I’m not in a position to give a precise and definitive number for the people who died, nor their identities, but there are at least two dead people,” he told reporters.