Mastermind of Paris attacks died in police raid: prosecutor

[PARIS] The body of the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, has been identified among those killed in a police raid, the prosecutor's office said Thursday.

"Abdelhamid Abaaoud has just been formally identified... as having been killed during the raid" in a northern Paris suburb on Wednesday, the prosecutor said in a statement.

Abaaoud, an Belgian jihadist and top Islamic State commander thought to be behind France's deadliest terror attacks last Friday, was identified using prints.

At least two bodies were found in the apartment in Saint-Denis after a seven-hour shootout and siege with elite police units.

A woman in the apartment detonated her suicide vest and a body was found so riddled with bullets that made it difficult to identify, the prosecutor had earlier said.

AFP