Mastermind of Paris attacks confirmed dead
PARIS: The Islamic State fighter suspected of masterminding the Paris attacks was killed during a major police raid, prosecutors confirmed on Thursday, marking a major victory in what President Francois Hollande had called a ‘war’ with the Sunni militant group.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls broke the news in Parliament to applause from lawmakers who voted to extend the country’s state of emergency for another three months after Valls warned that terrorists may use chemical or biological weapons to launch further attacks on the country.
Belgium-born Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed in Wednesday morning’s assault by elite police units on an apartment in northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, which left at least two persons dead, including a female suicide bomber who reportedly blew herself up.
Handprint analysis was used to identify 27-year-old Abaaoud’s body, which was found riddled with bullets and shrapnels in the rubble of the shattered building after officers rained fire and grenades on the jihadists in a sevenhour siege. “Abdelhamid Abaaoud has just been formally identified... as having been killed during the raid,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Eight persons were arrested after the raid. Thousands of people gathered at the French capital’s iconic Place de la Republique to pay tribute to 129 people killed in the attacks, with a lone Buddhist monk beating a sombre drum, symbolic of an outward calm in Paris that appeared to crack every now and then.
A black suitcase left in a café in Rue de St Martin on Thursday morning sparked panic and prompted calls to the police.
A gathering was also expected at the Stade de France, one of the targets of the November 13 attacks. “France will respond to hate with fraternity, to terror with law, to fanaticism with hope. In being simply France,” Hollande tweeted amid apprehension that the discourse of French politics was taking a sharp right turn, particularly on issues of border control. Earlier in the day, Valls warned of possible chemical or biological attacks.
“What is new are the ways of operating… the ways of attacking and killing are evolving all the time... And today we must not rule anything out and I say of course with all the precautions which can be taken we know and we have to bear in mind there is always the risk of chemical weapons or bacterial weapons.” Paris is scheduled to host crucial climate talks later this month. Citing security concerns, foreign minister Laurent Fabius on Thursday said no marches would be allowed during the summit, where India is one of the key participants.