After a day of reports that the alleged mastermind behind the Paris attacks may have been killed during an early morning police raid, a prosecutor can now confirm that he is in fact dead.
CNN noted that on Thursday, the Paris prosecutor’s office said that Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed in the gunfire and positively identified by papillary prints.
Authorities believed that Abaaoud was behind the attacks that left 129 people dead last Friday night in the French capital. Locating him was the purpose of a raid that took place early Wednesday morning.
Officials said that the suspect was held up in apartment with relatives. When police stormed the apartment, one woman inside blew herself up and police fired. Abaaoud’s body was found riddled with bullets.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls thanked the police and soldiers for their efforts.
Elsewhere in Europe, a federal prosecutor in Belgium said that at least six raids have been launched in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels where Abaaoud grew up.