The man believed to have been the mastermind behind the Paris terror attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was among those killed in a raid by French police on an apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint Denis on Wednesday.
The Belgian militant’s body was described as riddled with bullets and shrapnel, but his body was identified by his fingerprints.
A woman blew herself up in the Saint Denis apartment during the raid, but police said it was unclear whether Abaaoud died from bullet wounds and that blast, or whether he also blew himself up.
Abaaoud was known to have left for Syria last year, but French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that no EU state had noted his return, and security services were only made aware he had come to France on 16 November from information provided by a foreign intelligence service.
In the days since, police have raided dozens of properties across France and Belgium, with eight people arrested and two killed in the raid on the property in Saint Denis, where the body of Abaaoud was discovered.
