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An anti-terror chief has given a graphic and detailed account of the raid that killed the "mastermind" behind the deadly attacks on Paris - and the moment a female terrorist blew herself up.
Jean-Michel Fauvergue, 56, director of France's anti-terrorist unit Raid (Recherce Assistance Intervention Dissuasion), said officers were told there were three people inside the building in the city's commune of Saint-Denis, two men and one woman.
His account came as it emerged the man thought to have planned Friday's attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, died in the raid on Wednesday.
"Intelligence sources knew it was likely Abdelhamid Abaaoud would be there,” he told Le Figaro .
He said officers blasted the door open using explosives but were blocked by a shield that had been placed behind it. An exchange of fire lasted between 30-45 minutes, where "hundreds of shots were exchanged" and the terrorists launched grenades.
Mr Fauvergue said the team then sent Diesel, a police dog , into the apartment to do a reconnaissance of the area, but the animal was killed. One of the snipers hit a terrorist who continued to fire using a Kalashnikov.
In pictures: Saint-Denis raidShow all 33 1 /33In pictures: Saint-Denis raid In pictures: Saint-Denis raid A man is arrested by police officers at the site where a raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis, near Paris
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Hooded police officers detain a man in Saint-Denis, near Paris
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Hooded police officers detain a man in Saint-Denis, near Paris
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers detain a man on the ground inside a shopping mall in Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers arrest a man in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French police officers storm a church after a raid in Paris suburb Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers at work at the site where a raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Some people are being transferred to a local hospital near the site of this morning police raid in Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Residents are evacuated in Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Inhabitants are evacuated from a security perimeter set in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis city center
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Families are evacuated by police members at the site were a police raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Rescue teams take care of an injured police officer at the site where a police raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Members of special French RAID forces with a police dog and French riot police (CRS) secure the area during an operation in Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police forces operate in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French riot police (CRS), soldiers, firefighters and health workers stand at the scene in Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French riot police (CRS) secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Rescue teams and police gather at the site where raid happened in the city center of Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Soldiers operate in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers take up positions in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police and Ambulance vans are parked in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid A resident is being searched by police officers in Paris suburb Saint-Denis
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Members of French police special forces in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis city center, as French Police special forces raid an appartment, hunting those behind the attacks that claimed 129 lives in the French capital
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Anti-terrorist police raid apartment in Saint Denis, Paris. Reports suggest the target of the police siege in Saint-Denis is Abdelhamid Abaaoud, thought to be the mastermind behind the Paris attacks. Three suspected terrorists have barricaded themselves in an apartment gunfire has been exchanged between the men and dozens of armed police
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French special police forces secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French police evacuate residents in Saint-Denis
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police officers take up positions in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Police forces prepare in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French spolice stop and search a local resident as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis
In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French police members participate in an raid in the city center of Saint-Denis
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French special police forces secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid Firemen wait for the develop of the operation in the city center of Saint-Denis
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French police secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis
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In pictures: Saint-Denis raid French special police forces secure the area as shots are exchanged in Saint-Denis
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The woman, who has been named as Hasna Aitboulahcen , sent "a long burst of gunfire" at officers before blowing herself up.
A recording, believed to be of an exchange between Aitboulahcen and police in the moments before she detonated the explosives , was filmed by a terrified resident.
"Windows along the street shattered. A body part, a part of the spine, fell on one of our cars," Mr Fauvergue said.
He said Aitboulahce blew herself up inside the apartment in the hope the building would collapse and kill the raid team.
"It’s nerve-wracking for the men but also for the people in charge of the assaults," he explained.
"You're asking these guys to make contact with individuals who are ready to kill themselves."
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