Prosecutor Francois Molins said the arrest was launched afterwards advice from broke blast conversations, surveillance and attestant accounts adumbrated that the doubtable artist of the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, adeptness be in a safe abode in the district.
Authorities could not anon affirm whether Abaaoud, a Belgian Islamic State militant, was dead or arrested Wednesday morning.
Investigators accept articular 27-year-old Abaaoud, a Belgian of Moroccan descent, as the arch artist of Friday's attacks in Paris, which dead 129 humans and afflicted 350 others.
A U.S. official abreast on intelligence affairs said Abaaoud was a key amount in an Islamic State alien operations corpuscle that U.S. intelligence agencies accept been tracking for abounding months.Abaaoud was believed to be in Syria afterwards a January badge arrest in Belgium, but bragged in Islamic State advertising of his adeptness to move aback and alternating amid Europe and Syria undetected.
Speaking at the arena of Wednesday's raid, Molins said the operation began with a pre-dawn shootout and resulted in the abduction of three humans central the apartment, the afterlife of a woman who set off an atomic charge, and the afterlife of "another agitator ... who was hit by projectiles and grenades" in the antecedent assault.
He said two humans were bedfast while aggravating to adumbrate in the rubble, and two others were aswell arrested, including the man who had provided the accommodation and one of his acquaintances. Badge at the arena were apparent convoying abroad one man who was naked from the waist down, and addition captivated in a gold emergency blanket.
"As things stand, it is absurd to accord you the identities of the humans detained, which are getting verified," Molins said. "All will be done to actuate who is who, and based on the plan of argumentative police, we'll acquaint you who was in the accommodation — and what after-effects it will accept for the development of the investigation."
Molins and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve did not specify whether any suspects adeptness still be at large.A badge official not accustomed to be about called because of badge rules said four badge admiral were injured.
French President Francois Hollande accepted the courage of the aegis casework and said that France was "at war" with agitation by the Islamic State group.
"It is the absolute country that's been attacked," Hollande told a acquisition of French mayors. "For what it represents, the action we are arch to eradicate terrorism. And artlessly for what we are."
In Saint-Denis on Wednesday, badge cordoned off an breadth about the building, in a attenuated artery lined with low-rise buildings. Riot badge austere humans from the streets, pointing accoutrements at analytical association to move them off the roads.
The breadth is beneath than two kilometers (just over a mile) from the Stade de France stadium. Three suicide bombers blew themselves up Friday abreast the amphitheater during an all-embracing soccer match.Residents said the aboriginal access befuddled the adjacency anon afterwards 4 a.m.
"We estimated it was affiliated to Friday night," said Yves Steux, barman at L'Escargot restaurant 250 meters (yards) from the assault."My wife afraid and was afraid and told me not to leave, but I abandoned her. Life goes on."
Baptiste Marie, a 26-year-old absolute announcer who lives in the neighborhood, said a additional ample access was followed by "two added explosions. There was an hour of gunfire."
Another witness, Amine Guizani, said he heard the complete of grenades and automated gunfire.
"It was continuous. It didn't stop," he said. "It lasted from 4:20 until 5:30. It was a acceptable hour. I couldn't say how abounding shots were fired, but it was apparently 500. Hundreds, definitely. There were maybe 10 explosions."
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