How did this selfie-taking, alcohol-drinking secular young woman become Europe’s first female suicide bomber?

Hasna Aitboulahcen lived a secular life, drinking alcohol and rarely visiting a mosque, but police say she died an extremist's death: blowing herself up by detonating a suicide vest.

The 26-year-old daughter of a Moroccan immigrant had been under police surveillance because her name came up in a drug-trafficking case, said a police union official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to talk to media.

Aitboulahcen died Wednesday as police closed in on an apartment in suburban Saint-Denis, along with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the man suspected of orchestrating the November 13 attacks across Paris that killed 129 people. It was not known if she had any role in the attacks.

Also unclear is her exact connection to the 28-year-old Abaaoud, the son of a Moroccan-born shopkeeper in Brussels. Three police officials said Aitboulahcen often described herself as his “cousin”, but the term also is used by young French of North African descent to refer to close friends who are no blood relation.

Her final moments were marked by a brief, angry exchange with police during the siege.

“Where is your boyfriend?” an officer demanded, according to an official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to disclose details of the investigation.

She replied: “He's not my boyfriend!”