Paris attacks: suspects and 'mastermind' Abdel-Hamid Abu Oud holed up in St-Denis raid

• St-Denis: what we know so far
• Who is Paris attacks ‘mastermind’ Abdel-Hamid Abu Oud?
• Salah Abdeslam and another fugitive ‘barricaded in apartment’
• Paris-bound Air France flights diverted in US after threats
• French police hunt new fugitive thought to be involved in Paris attacks
• Germany-Holland football match called off after terror attack warning

4m ago07:24

Two suspects dead, including a woman, in raid

Associated Press confirms French police saying two suspects are dead, including a woman, during the raid.

Separate reports are saying that the third person who has apparently died was a bystander. This has not been confirmed.

24s ago
07:10

French national police have just put out this reminder that the operation is ongoing:

FacebookTwitterGoogle plus

3m ago07:07

Le Monde and other French media say they have confirmation from police and judicial sources that three of the people targeted in the police operation are dead, including a woman who blew herself up with an explosive belt.

The Guardian has not yet been able to verify this independently.

I will bring you further information as we check it.

3m ago06:58

St-Denis raid: what we know so far

The police operation in St-Denis is ongoing, but here is what we currently know:

• Heavy shooting, including automatic gunfire, and explosions have been reported in St-Denis, a northern Paris suburb. St-Denis is where the Stade de France, one of the targets of Friday’s attacks, is located, although the current operation is in the centre of the suburb, close to the basilica.
• The targets of the raid are the mastermind of the Paris attacks,Abdel-Hamid Abu Oud; as well as Salah Abdeslam and another suspect thought to be a ninth attacker.
• Two or three men are reported to have barricaded themselves in an apartment, exchanging gunfire with officers. It is not confirmed that these men are the suspects named above.
• Shooting began at 4.30am local time (0330 GMT) and has continued in bursts in the hours since. At least seven explosions have been heard.
• Three police officers have been reported injured in the operation, apparently not seriously. At least one person has reportedly died, but this has not been confirmed.
• Roads have been closed off and the police operation is ongoing, with large numbers of police officers and police vehicles in the area. Military reinforcements have also arrived.
• Residents have been told to stay in their homes and away from windows. Some have been moved to a temporary shelter in the town hall. Transport to St-Denis has been suspended and schools will not open on Wednesday.

4m ago06:46

Three heavy trucks carrying around 100 French troops have arrived in Saint-Denis to secure the perimeter of the operation, as they did outside the Bataclan concert hall on Friday night.

Heavily armed police have taken over the centre of the town.

At least seven explosions have been heard at the scene, but the source of the blasts is unclear.

7m ago06:43

Associated Press has spoken to residents of Saint-Denis who are witnessing the siege.

One resident described intense gunfire and explosions during a police operation near the site of one of last week’s deadly attacks.

Baptiste Marie, a 26-year-old independent journalist who lives near the scene of the standoff, told AP:

It started with an explosion. Then there was second big explosion. Then two more explosions. There was an hour of gunfire.

Resident Amin Guizani, 21, said:

There were grenades. It was going, stopping. Kalashnikovs. Starting again.

06:45

Roads to St Denis blocked

Posted at06:45

Police have blocked roads leading to St Denis, the BBC's Anna Holligan - who is at the scene - says. Our correspondent says they are shining green lasers at people who come too close. At least three large military trucks packed with soldiers have also been spotted.

Fate of Abdelhamid Abaaoud still unclear

Posted at06:42

It is still not clear if Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the 28-year-old suspected mastermind of Friday's attacks, is one of the people thought to be inside the apartment in Saint Denis that police are focused on, AFP reports.

He was previously thought to be in Syria.    

The 27-year-old grew up in Molenbeek, a district of Brussels.

He is an associate of Salah Abdeslam, who is on the run and whose brother Brahim blew himself up in Paris.

Brahim died in the Comptoir Voltaire bar, without killing others. They are all believed to have been recruited by IS.

3m ago06:37

It is now just after 7.30am in Paris, meaning the siege in St-Denis has been going on for over three hours.

There are reports of one person dead, and three police officers injured, though apparently not seriously.

Several explosions have been heard in the last few minutes.

At least three military trucks are now on the scene in the centre of St-Denis.

06:33

Jon Henley

BFMTV and other French media have reported that at least one person has been killed in the police assault. His identity is not yet known.

The inhabitants of St-Denis have been ordered to remain inside their homes, behind locked doors, and to stay away from the windows.