Paris (dpa): The two suspected terrorists known to be still on the run following Friday’s attacks in Paris were not arrested in a raid in a northern suburb of the French capital, Prosecutor Francois Molins said.
Eight people – seven men and one woman – were taken in custody Wednesday, the prosecutor said, briefing reporters about the seven-hour operation launched at around 4.30 am (0330 GMT) in the municipality of Saint-Denis.
A man is arrested by police officers at the site of an anti-terrorism raid in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday.
Their identities “have not been formally identified, but I can clarify to you that Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Salah Abdeslam are not among those taken in custody,” Molins said.
He warned that the exact number of victims of the raid and their identities was also not clear, but said evidence suggested that a female suicide bomber was among them. Earlier reports suggested that two suspects had died.
In any case, Molins said the targeted cell was dangerous and “everything seems to suggests that […] they could have gone into action.”
Abaaoud is a Belgian of Moroccan origin thought to have planned the shootings and bombings that left at least 129 people dead and 352 injured in Paris. The Islamic State extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The 28-year-old, who fought for the Islamic State in Syria, is also suspected of having masterminded a foiled plot to kill police officers in Belgium in January.
The second suspect who was not arrested is 26-year-old Abdeslam, a French resident of Belgium presumed to have been in the commando that executed Friday’s attacks. His brother Brahim was one of the seven assailants found dead on the scene.
Molins said police acted after receiving a Monday tip off that Abaaoud was hiding in Saint-Denis. The information was judged to be reliable after being “carefully” checked against telephone and banking records, he said.
Rescue teams take care of an injured police officer at the site of an anti-terrorism raid in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday.
Among those taken into custody were five people found in the targeted building, and three caught in the street, including a man believed to have rented out the apartment where Abaaoud was suspected to had taken cover.
The landlord, caught with a woman who was also apprehended, told AFP news agency before being taken away that he knew that two people from Belgium would be using the apartment – described as a squat – and said he did not know they were “terrorists.”
The raid featured heavy gunfire and explosions.
The terrorists’ flat had an armoured front door that resisted to the first attack by police, giving them time to organize their defences, Molins said. Police fired 5,000 bullets in a shootout that lasted one hour, he added.
Five officers were lightly injured, while a police dog was killed by the suspects, France’s National Police wrote on Twitter.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised security forces for intervening in an “extremely courageous” way, while President Francois Hollande described the operation as “particularly dangerous,” in a speech before mayors.
Psychological support was going to be provided to some 60 to 80 residents, Jean-Marc Agostinucci from the French Red Cross told dpa in Saint-Denis. “The noise from explosions and gunshots was deeply distressing” for them, he said.
Around 15 people, including children, were evacuated out of the targeted building, while thousands of people were stuck in their homes during the raid, the newspaper Le Parisien quoted deputy mayor Stephane Peu as saying.
The area of the raid is close to the Stade de France football and rugby stadium, which was targeted along with the Bataclan concert hall, restaurants and cafes during Friday’s attacks.
It emerged Wednesday that Belgian police had at one time interrogated the Abdeslam brothers, after Brahim unsuccessfully attempted to go to Syria.
“We knew they were radicalized and that they could go to Syria, [but] they showed no sign of a possible threat,” Belgium’s RTL broadcaster quoted prosecution spokesman Eric Van Der Sypt as saying.
“Even if we had brought them to France’s attention, I doubt that they could have been stopped,” he added.
There were reports that a ninth attacker may have taken part in Friday’s events. An unidentified man was spotted in footage of a car carrying the Abdeslam brothers, AFP wrote.
Also on Wednesday, the French government presented the first new legislation in response to the terrorist attacks. It would keep France’s state of emergency in place for three more months. The measure is due to be considered by parliament on Thursday and the Senate on Friday.
The state of emergency has allowed police searches to be carried out more easily and at all hours of the night. A total of 118 were done overnight as part of the efforts to fight terrorism and crime, with 25 people taken into custody and 34 weapons seized, Cazeneuve said.
Meanwhile, the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek, where some of the Paris attackers lived, held a vigil for the victims attended by 2,000-2,500 people, according to police estimates quoted by the Belga news agency.
