Saint-Denis Paris attacks: What we know about police raids 'targeting Isis mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud'

Explosions and gunfire were heard at around 4.30am local time

(AP)

Two people - believed to be suspects linked to Friday's terrorist attacks, in which 129 people died - have been killed in an armed police raid on an apartment in the Parisien suburb of Saint-Denis.

Heavy gunfire and seven explosions were reported in the northern district of the city at around 4.30am Wednesday, local time. One of those reported to have died was a woman who blew herself up while wearing a suicide belt.

Here are some of the key points of the ongoing operation:

* Operation began at 4.30am, with around two hours of gunfire and explosions

* Five or six suspects were in the apartment building, including Abdelhamid Abaaoud and possibly Salah Abdeslam

* At least two supects killed - one a woman wearing a belt of explosives

* Seven people arrested, including three from inside the flat

* Four or five policemen injured, one seriously

* A police dog called Diesel also died during the raid

* The cell was reportedly planning an attack in La Defense

The operation was launched specifically to target Belgian suspect Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the attacks claimed by Isis.

Several police officers have also been wounded in the operation, which was described by Deputy Mayor Stephane Peu as a "police intervention" and "not a new attack".

There was some confusion over the number of people killed, with three originally reported to have died. French police have since confirmed the deaths of two suspects - and no civilians are known to have died during the operation.

Three suspects were arrested inside the apartment, and the Paris prosecutor's office released a statement saying that another man and woman were arrested nearby. The total number of people detained was later confirmed as seven.

Abaaoud was reported to have been holed up in the third-floor apartment on Rue du Corbillon near Rue de la Republique alongside five other heavily-armed people, one of whom was said to be French national Salah Abdeslam, 26 - the subject of a major manhunt - and an unidentified ninth attacker.

Residents were advised to stay inside their homes and to shut their windows, and some were moved to a temporary shelter in the town hall. Schools in the area have been closed, and travel to the area suspended.

Baptiste Marie, 26, a journalist who lives in the neighbourhood, told the Press Association: "Then there was second big explosion. Then two more explosions. There was an hour of gunfire."

Police say two suspects in last week's Paris attacks, a man and a woman, have been killed (AP)

A woman living beneath the property with her baby son told BMFTV she "awoke to an explosion".

"After that I heard gun shots and there was lots of shooting," the woman named as 'Sabine' said, reported by the Guardian.

"The terrorists were fighting at the police and the police were firing back.

"There were shots, explosions. We didn’t know where to go. My son and I were in panic. There was dust falling from the ceiling because of the explosions. I kept shouting ‘If you’re from the police, please help me. I’m here with my baby.’

"But they kept shooting and shooting."

Another witness, Amine Guizani, said he heard the sound of grenades and automatic gunfire.

"They were shooting for an hour," he said. "Non-stop. There were grenades. It was going, stopping. Kalashnikovs. Starting again."

Roads have been blocked off around Rue de la Republique in Saint Denis, which is 2km from the Stade de France.

Suicide attackers detonated three bombs there during the attacks on Friday.

Additional reporting by various agencies