Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the so-called mastermind and ringleader of Friday’s Paris terrorist attacks, was killed during the Wednesday morning raid in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. French police conducted the raid on fugitive suspects linked to Friday’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris. The raid ended with the deaths of at least three suspected terrorists and the arrests of several more. A hero police dog was killed when one of the fugitives, a female, turned into a suicide bomber.
We soon learned, courtesy of CNN, that this woman was the cousin of Abaaoud, a Belgian national who spent time fighting in Syria with ISIS. He was the key target of the operation. On Wednesday, Prosecutor Francois Molins detailed the results of the raid. Molins held off from confirming Abaaoud’s death until DNA testing was complete. CNN now reports that Abaaoud has been confirmed dead as a result of the raid:
In a statement released Thursday, the Paris prosecutor’s office said that Abaaoud’s body was found in the Saint-Denis building riddled with bullets. The office said that he was positively identified using papillary prints, which include patterns on fingers, palms and the soles of the feet.
Exactly how he died, at this point, isn’t known. Police fired around 5,000 rounds of ammunition in the confrontation and used strong munitions that spurred a floor to collapse.
Authorities are not certain whether Abaaoud was killed during the gunfire or whether he used a suicide bomb during the attack.
(Via CNN)