France confirms suspected mastermind of Paris attacks killed in raid

The suspected mastermind of last week's Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed in the police raid of an apartment north of the capital on Nov. 18, French officials said on Nov. 19, as French lawmakers extended emergency powers imposed after the carnage.

Abaaoud, a 28-year-old Belgian militant who had boasted of mounting attacks in Europe for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), was accused of orchestrating Nov. 13 coordinated bombings and shootings in the French capital, which killed 129 people. 

"It was his body we discovered in the building, riddled with bullets," a statement from the Paris prosecutor said, a day after the pre-dawn raid, Reuters reported. The prosecutor later added that it was unclear whether Abaaoud had detonated a suicide belt. 

Prime Minister Manuel Valls broke the news in Parliament to applause from lawmakers who were voting on Nov. 19 to extend the country's state of emergency for another three months, which was passed and allowed for the government to block websites and social media accounts promoting or inciting terrorist acts. 

"We know today ... that the mastermind of the attacks, or one of them, let's remain cautious, was among those dead," Valls told reporters.

Early on Wednesday morning, investigations led police to the house where Abaaoud was holed up in the Paris suburb of St. Denis. Heavily armed officers stormed the building before dawn, triggering a massive firefight and multiple explosions. Officials had said on Nov. 18 that two people were killed in the raid, including a female suicide bomber who blew herself up. Forensic scientists were trying to determine whether a third person had died. Eight people were arrested. 

French Interior Minister Bernard...