Paris attacks: Heavy shooting heard in northern suburb

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

Heavy shooting has been heard in the northern Paris suburb of Saint Denis and reports say a police operation linked to last Friday’s attacks is under way there.

Some police have been wounded, French TV station BFMTV reported.

Earlier, security sources said surveillance video showed a possible ninth assailant during Friday’s attacks in which 129 people died.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) group has said it carried out the attacks.

One report said roads had been blocked off around Place Jean Jaures in Saint Denis, in the same district as the Stade de France, where suicide attackers detonated bombs on Friday.

Radio Monte Carlo reporters at the scene said that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the attacks, is the focus of the operation, but this was not confirmed.

They said that more than one suspect had been cornered in a block of flats.

Amateur video aired by TV stations BFMTV and iTele cited witnesses saying sporadic gunfire had rung out since 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”.

Friday’s attacks also left more than 400 people wounded, with 221 still in hospital, 57 of them in intensive care.

The video released earlier reportedly shows a third figure in the car carrying the group which attacked several bars and restaurants.

It is not clear if this ninth attacker is one of two suspected accomplices detained in Belgium or is someone still on the run.

BBC