Suspected Mastermind of Paris Attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Dead: Reports

Washington:  Within hours of the French Ambassador telling NDTV that there were indications that Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud -- the suspected mastermind of the Paris terror attacks -- had killed himself, US daily Washington Post reported Abaaoud is dead.

The Post cited two unnamed intelligence officials, who said forensic experts confirmed it while combing through the aftermath wreckage at the building of a Paris suburb after a 7-hour siege. Reuters, which cited the Post report, said it could not independently confirm it.

"I have information that led us to suspect that he has committed suicide. I do not have any particular documents saying that but that is the first indication we have received," Ambassador Francois Richier said. "We need to wait for confirmation of the outcome of the operation."

A DNA test is expected to provide the final evidence.

Abaaoud, the 28-year-old member of the Islamic State terror group, was believed to be among the suspects who were holed up in an apartment during the seven-hour raid by the French police and army.

Abaaoud was initially believed to be in Syria.
 

Today's raid targeted Abaaoud, said police sources. Gunfire and explosions erupted at around 4.30 am this morning at Saint Denis.

Two terrorists were killed, including a woman who detonated a suicide belt. The woman, say unconfirmed reports, was Abaaoud's relative.

Abaaoud was thought to have pulled the strings from Syria for the attacks that killed 129 people in Paris on Friday.
 

Soldiers flooded into the area and heavily armed police were seen deploying along a street full of shops in the center of the district, while ambulances and fire engines filled the streets.

Some residents were evacuated, some still in their underwear, and authorities warned residents to keep away from windows.

The raid came as Europe was placed on high alert after footage from the scene of one of Friday's attacks in Paris, which killed 129 and injured 350, revealed a ninth suspect may have taken part.
 

Story First Published: November 18, 2015 23:55 IST

"Let's go" text found on Paris attacker's cell phone

PARIS: A cell phone has been found near the site of one of Friday's Paris shootings with a map of the music venue that was attacked and a text message on it saying words to the effect of "let's go", a source with knowledge of the investigations said.

Confirming reports on French web site Mediapart and US television channel CNN, the source said the phone was found in a dustbin near the Bataclan concert hall where the bloodiest of the shootings took place.

At least 129 people died in the killings, including 89 at Bataclan. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the co-ordinated suicide bombings and shootings.

2 Air France Flights Heading From US to Paris Diverted: Reports

Two Air France flights en route to Paris from the United States were diverted on Tuesday because of security issues, and passengers and crew were safely removed, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

An Airbus A-380 that departed from Los Angeles landed in Salt Lake City, where passengers and crew were being taken off the plane and escorted into the terminal, an FAA spokesman said.

A separate flight that left Dulles International Airport outside Washington was diverted to Halifax International Airport in Nova Scotia, also because of an unspecified security concern, and passengers and crew had disembarked, the FAA said.

Halifax airport spokesman Peter Spurway said the Air France Boeing 777 jet was diverted to Halifax at 10:15 pm. eastern time and was currently sitting at the end of the airport's main runway.

"It's an RCMP matter," Spurway said referring to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "The passengers are being deplaned at this point and being transferred to a secure area of the terminal building because they're international passengers."

CNN, citing a US government official, reported that Flight 65, the flight which originated in Los Angeles, was diverted after a bomb threat was called in from the ground. The official did not know if anyone was arrested in connection with that incident.

"Several law enforcement agencies are working in concert, following established protocol, to determine the nature of the threats which caused the aircraft to divert," FBI Special Agent Todd Palmer, of the agency's Salt Lake City division, told the network.

Security officials have been on high alert since last week's deadly attacks in Paris, claimed by Islamic State militants, killed 129 people.

© Thomson Reuters 2015

Story First Published: November 18, 2015 09:01 IST