Paris attacks: Police in deadly swoop on apartment in northern suburb

Explosions and heavy gunfire were heard in Paris as armed police searching for suspects from Friday's attacks raided a flat in the suburb of Saint-Denis. Two people were killed in the raid, including a female suspect who blew herself up with a suicide belt. Seven people have been arrested. The French government confirmed the seven-hour raid has now ended. The focus of the raid was the alleged mastermind of Friday's attacks that killed 129 people. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin, was originally suspected of organising Friday's attacks from Syria. Follow the latest live events The operation began at 04:20 local time (03.20 GMT) in Saint-Denis, the same district as the Stade de France where suicide attackers detonated bombs on Friday. French Prosecutor Francois Molins said the operation was a result of intelligence suggesting Abaaoud was in the flat. Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. Media captionTom Burridge: "There are few people on the streets of Saint Denis this morning" Police forces in Saint Denis, Paris, on 18 November 2015Image copyrightAP Image caption Armed police sealed off Saint-Denis Members of judiciary police at Saint Denis, Paris, on 18 November 2015Image copyrightEPA Image caption Some police officers were masked Rescue teams and police in Saint Denis, Paris, on 18 November 2015Image copyrightEPA Image caption Ambulances are at the scene He said a young woman - who France's BFMTV said was a relative of Abaaoud - detonated her explosives belt soon after the raid began. Another suspect was killed by grenades and police bullets, Mr Molins said. Three men were arrested in the apartment, along with four others - including the man who provided the lodging. He said they were working on identifying the suspects. 464 gray line Multicultural Saint-Denis: by the BBC's Cagil Kasapoglu Saint-Denis is a multicultural, multi-religious, multi-ethnic suburb or banlieue. There are Africans, Algerians, Indians, Chinese, Turkish and many more from different backgrounds. The majority of the population has "sans-papiers" status - meaning they do not yet have a legal status and an ID which would allow them to find a job. During my visit to Saint-Denis on Tuesday, I heard quite a lot of "us vs. them" when people talked about the "Parisiens" and themselves in the banlieues. 464 gray line Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. Media captionLocal resident Benson Hoi: "Police were shouting to people to get back to their flats" As the operation got under way, roads were blocked off around Rue de la Republique in Saint-Denis, by truckloads of soldiers and armed police. Local residents, who were urged to stay indoors, spoke of hearing continuous gunshots and large explosions. Amine Guizani told the Associated Press he heard the sounds of grenades and automatic gunfire. "They were shooting for an hour, non-stop. There were grenades. It was going, stopping, Kalashnikovs, starting again," he said. Map 464 gray line More on the Paris attacks What happened in Paris? How events unfolded on Friday evening in the French capital Hollande upstages opposition French president's tougher line on counter-terrorism Who were the victims? Details of some of the 129 people killed Paris tributes after the attacks Watch a 360-degree video The fight against Islamic State Can a modern, open Western capital ever be totally secure? Most wanted: Alleged mastermind Profile of key suspect Abdelhamid Abaaoud Special report: In-depth coverage of the attacks and their aftermath 464 gray line The near simultaneous attacks on bars and restaurants, a concert hall and the Stade du France last Friday left more than 400 people wounded, with 221 still in hospital, 57 of them in intensive care. All 129 people who died have now been identified, the French government confirmed on Wednesday. European countries are on high alert. On Tuesday evening, a football friendly between Germany and the Netherlands was cancelled shortly before kick-off and the stadium in Hannover evacuated after "concrete" information about a bomb threat, according to the city's police chief. Part of Hannover railway station was also closed while a suspicious object was investigated. Meanwhile, two Air France planes heading to Paris from the US were diverted because of security threats. One was sent to Halifax in Canada, the other to Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah. Both planes landed safely and the passengers were unharmed. 464 gray line What is Islamic State? IS is a notoriously violent Islamist group which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq. It has declared its territory a caliphate - a state governed in accordance with Islamic law - under its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. What does it want? IS demands allegiance from all Muslims, rejects national borders and seeks to expand its territory. It follows its own extreme version of Sunni Islam and regards non-believers as deserving of death. How strong is IS? IS projects a powerful image, partly through propaganda and sheer brutality, and is the world's richest insurgent group. It has about 30,000 fighters but is facing daily bombing by a US-led multi-national coalition, which has vowed to destroy it. What is Islamic State? 'No timetable' for Syria strikes vote