Police Raid Paris Suburb in Search of Terror Suspects
- By Sydny Shepard
- Nov 19, 2015
In late November, French authorities zeroed in on an apartment building in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, after picking up phone conversations indicating that a relative of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected leader of the Paris Attacks that targeted six different areas and killing at least 128 people, may have been on the premises.
Shortly before dawn, the officers surrounded the evacuated building and made their way up to a third-floor apartment, where the suspects were thought to be. They were met with fierce resistance from the start, including an armored door, a woman who detonated a suicide bomb and bullets flying back and forth for about an hour. The officers used powerful munitions, which led to one floor of the building collapsing.
It was not immediately known how many people died and their identities, and authorities reported that they believed Abaaoud was not in the apartment.
The bodies of the deceased underwent papillary tests, which include matching the patterns on fingers, palms and the soles of the feet, and officials were able to share the result that Abaaoud was, in fact, one of the people killed in the raid.
Exactly how he died is unknown at this point. Officials are unable to pinpoint if Abaaoud was killed by a suicide bomb or by one of the 5,000 rounds that were shot during the confrontation.
Police continue to raid parts of Paris while on the hunt for French citizen, Salah Abdeslam, one of the attackers involved with the attacks at Bataclan concert hall, Stade de France stadium and restaurants in the French capital.
About the Author
Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.