Paris: Mastermind of last week's terror attacks in Paris, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed on Wednesday in a police operation here, the Washington Post reported citing two senior European officials.
The hunt to nab Belgian jihadist Abaaoud took a bloody turn on Wednesday with police personnel storming an apartment building in Saint-Denis, a bustling suburb home to many immigrants. The seven-hour gunbattle left at least two people dead. Eight persons were also arrested in the raid.
Associated Press, however, reported that the fate of Abaaoud was unclear, with authorities saying he was not taken alive and they were trying to determine if he died in the raid.
On the other hand, French Ambassador to India Francois Richier has said that the suspected mastermind behind the deadly suicide attacks on the Capital of France may have committed suicide.
Also Read: 'Paris attack mastermind may have committed suicide'
While speaking to an English news channel he said Belgian jihadist Abaaoud may have committed suicide during raids by the French Police.
"According to information I have, yes he committed suicide during the operation," said Richier.
Abaaoud, the 28-year-old Islamic State militant from Brussels of Moroccan origin, was believed to be inside the apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis with five other heavily armed people when the raids started.
The police operation was launched after receiving information from tapped phone calls, surveillance and tip-offs suggesting that Abaaoud was holed up in an apartment in Paris' Saint-Denis neighborhood.
Terrified residents awoke to gunfire and explosions as a SWAT team swooped in and "neutralized" what Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins called a "new team of terrorists" that appeared ready for a new attack.
Molins said the identities of the dead were still being investigated, but that neither Abaaoud nor another fugitive, Salah Abdeslam, was in custody.
"At this time, I'm not in a position to give a precise and definitive number for the people who died, nor their identities, but there are at least two dead people," Molins said.
The site of Wednesday's raid is not far from the Stade de France soccer stadium; three suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the stadium during an international soccer game as part of the attacks last Friday that left 129 people dead and hundreds wounded.
French police dog 'Diesel' killed in raid
Five police were wounded and a SWAT team dog was killed in the intense gunbattle during which the third floor of the apartment building collapsed.
Many have turned to social media to pay tribute to the 7-year-old Belgian shepherd dog that France's National Police said was killed by terrorists.
Police shared a picture of the SWAT team member on Twitter, saying assault dogs were indispensable to their work.
Within hours, #JeSuisChien - inspired by the popular slogan "Je Suis Charlie," used worldwide in solidarity after the Charlie Hebdo attacks earlier this year - had gone viral.
Many shared messages praising Diesel's bravery and loyalty, while some users posted pictures of their own dogs in solidarity.
Abaaoud key figure in of ISIS external operations cell
A U.S. official briefed on intelligence matters said Abaaoud was a key figure in an Islamic State external operations cell that U.S. intelligence agencies have been tracking for months.
Abaaoud is believed to have escaped to Syria after a January police raid in Belgium, but he has bragged in Islamic State propaganda of his ability to move back and forth between Europe and Syria undetected.
Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens also said he could not confirm whether Abaaoud was among those killed in the raid.
French President calls for an international coalition to destroy ISIS
Speaking after the seven-hour siege ended, French President Francois Hollande praised the bravery of the security services and said that France was "at war" with the Islamic State group, which has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
He called for an international coalition to destroy the group, which controls territory in Syria and Iraq.
Hollande also said that France will be pursuing a UN Security Council resolution to unite the international community in combating the Islamic State group.
Russia yesterday said that it has already circulated its draft resolution to all 15 council members pursuing UN Security Council resolutions against ISIS.
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations said that his country is proposing a UN Security Council draft resolution on combating ISIS after discussions with France in the wake of the Paris attacks.
But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that ignoring the Syrian government in the effort is "weakening the possibility of our joint fight against terrorism."
Meanwhile, Britain said one of the Royal Navy's most advanced warships would support a French aircraft carrier that is on its way to join operations against IS militants in Syria.
