Paris attacks: Police in deadly swoop on apartment in northern suburb BBC

A woman blew herself up with a suicide belt, a prosecutor says. Some reports suggested two suspects died. Several explosions and gunfire were heard. The operation is said to be ongoing.

Five people have also been arrested.

The focus of the operation is reported to be Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the Islamic State-claimed attacks that killed 129 people.

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Roads have been blocked off around Rue de la Republique in Saint Denis, in the same district as the Stade de France, where suicide attackers detonated bombs on Friday.

Truckloads of soldiers joined armed police at the scene.

"I've been hearing gunshots continuously, like fireworks... There have been some breaks but... to me it sounds like continuous gunshots," one resident, Benson Hoi, told the BBC.

Armed police sealed off the area as shots rang out in Saint Denis

Another witness, Amine Guizani, told the Associated Press he heard the sounds of grenades and automatic gunfire.

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

At least five people were believed to have been in the targeted third floor flat in Rue de La Republique, French radio RTL reported.

Several police officers had been wounded.

The operation began at around 04:30 local time (03:30 GMT). Deputy Mayor Stephane Peu urged local residents to stay indoors, saying "it is not a new attack but a police intervention".

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References:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34853657