Presumed mastermind not arrested in Paris police raid

Paris, Nov 19  The presumed mastermind of Paris terrorist attacks was not among the eight people arrested on Wednesday during a police raid in the suburbs of the city, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins confirmed in a press conference here.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Moroccan-origin Belgian jihadist was believed to be a mastermind of Friday night's terrorist attacks.

The prosecutor also confirmed another important suspect, Salah Abdeslam, hunted since November 15, was not among the eight arrested either. 

Though the Paris prosecutor said the identification of three among seven men was underway.

The Washington Post reported, before the press conference, that Abaaoud was killed by during the raid.

According to Molins, the raid was carried out in Saint-Denis, following a tip-off the French police received on Monday indicating the presence of Abaaoud in France.

The raid on fugitive terrorists was launched at 4.20 a.m, in city centre of Saint-Denis in northern Paris, a few hundred meters away from the Stade de France where three suicide bombing took place last Friday.