Hours After French Raids, Fate of Mastermind Still Unknown

This post was updated at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 18 to reflect breaking news. 

Shootings and explosions — including a woman who blew herself up — rocked a Paris suburb early Wednesday as police raided a den of suspects believed to have links to last week’s deadly rampage across the French capital. But the alleged mastermind of those attacks, which killed 129 in the worst violence to hit Paris since World War II, may still be on the loose.

Authorities said two people were killed in the raid on suburban Saint-Denis: the woman, who is believed to have detonated an explosives-packed vest, and a man by a grenade blast. Eight others were arrested.

Initial reports from Paris indicated the raid targeted Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian-born Islamic State militant who is believed to have coordinated last Friday’s attacks. Paris Prosecutor François Molins said neither Abaaoud nor Salah Abdeslam, who is suspected of participating in Friday’s attacks, were arrested during the raid, which took place about seven miles north of central Paris. But officials have not yet identified the man who was killed, leaving room for speculation it may have been one of the two. 

Abaaoud was suspected of being in Syria earlier this year and he’d boasted in Islamic State media of his ability to travel between Europe and the Mideast war zone.

On Wednesday, in the wake of the raids, the Obama administration announced a $5 million reward for information on Tirad al-Jarba, the Islamic State leader better known as Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali, who is allegedly responsible for moving foreign fighters into Syria.

In Paris, French President François Hollande told French mayors he would seek a constitutional amendment to allow for an extended state of emergency. His cabinet was set to meet later Wednesday to discuss the changes, which will impose curfews, control broadcasts, and allow security officials to raid homes without prior court approval.

“It means certain limitation of freedoms, but by using this tool, this enables us to reestablish that freedom later on,” Hollande said in translated comments broadcast live Wednesday afternoon on French TV.

“France needs to remain true to itself,” he said. “Our duty is to ensure that life goes on.”

Hollande is set to be in Washington next week to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Air France said two Paris-bound flights leaving the United States were diverted Tuesday night due to anonymous threats. Authorities cleared both planes within hours without evidence of potential bombs.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 110 elite forces were involved in the Wednesday raid on Saint-Denis, home to one of the area’s largest immigrant populations. Five French security officers were mildly injured, and a police dog was killed.

Special forces, reinforced by soldiers, reportedly arrived in Saint-Denis at 4:15 a.m. local time and surrounded an apartment building on the Rue du Corbillon. The nearly seven-hour operation was not declared over until 11:47 a.m., after forces reportedly broke through the door of St.-Denys de l’Estrée, a small church in the neighborhood. It is not immediately clear why the church was also raided, and early reports may have been a false alarm.

Jakes reported from Rome; O’Grady from Washington.

Photo credit: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images