Gunfire and explosions shook the Paris suburb of St. Denis early on Wednesday when French police raided an apartment where a Belgian militant suspected of masterminding last week's attacks in the French capital was possibly holed up. A woman died after detonating a bomb at the scene, the French prosecutors' office said, adding that three people in the apartment had been arrested and two others were seized nearby. A judicial source said a second person had died in the pre-dawn raid and two more suspects arrested in the operation to hunt down those responsible for coordinated suicide bombings and shootings that killed 129 people in Paris. Seven hours after the operation started, police announced it was over, but there was still no word on whether militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was initially thought to have orchestrated Friday's attacks from Syria, had been caught. Heavily armed police and soldiers filled the streets of St. Denis, schools and shops were shuttered and residents in the heart of the district were ordered to stay at home. Local residents spoke of their fear and panic as the shooting started. "We could see bullets flying and laser beams out of the window. There were explosions. You could feel the whole building shake," said Sabrine, a downstairs neighbor from the apartment where at least one gunman was still believed to be holed up. She told Europe 1 radio that she heard the people in the flat above talking to each other, running around and reloading their guns. "I tried to hide my son beneath me but each time there was shooting he was clawing at my skin," she said, adding that police eventually managed to get them to safety. Three police officers and a passerby were injured in the assault, which was close to the Stade de France stadium which was one of the targets of the Nov. 13 attacks.
