Paris prosecutor: Attack mastermind, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, is DEAD
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins' office said 27-year-old Abdelhamid Abaaoud was identified based on skin samples, but authorities did not know how he died. His body was found in the apartment building targeted in the chaotic and bloody raid in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday.
The official confirmed an audio recording, punctuated by gunshots, in which an officer asks: "Where is your boyfriend?" and she responded angrily: "He's not my boyfriend!" Then loud bangs are heard.
The bodies recovered in the raid were badly mangled, with a part of Aitboulahcen's spine landing on a police car, complicating formal identification, according to one of the officials.
Police launched the operation after receiving information from tapped phone calls, surveillance and tipoffs suggesting that Abaaoud was holed up there. Eight people were arrested in the raid.
"Terrorism hit France not because of what it is doing in Iraq and Syria ... but for what it is," Valls told the lower house of Parliament. He added, "We know that there could also be a risk of chemical or biological weapons."
In Italy, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said law enforcement was searching for five people flagged by the FBI in response to a U.S. warning about potential targets following the Paris attacks.
Danish and Norwegian police were asked to be on the lookout for a man Swedish authorities said is wanted in connection with an investigation into "preparation for a terrorist offense." Sweden's Security Service, known as SAPO, said the request was not linked to the Paris attacks.
He told lawmakers that security personnel will be increased and special attention will be paid to eradicating messages of hate. He also called for more international cooperation, and said he wants to amend the Belgian constitution to extend the length of time terror suspects can be held by police without charge.
In Belgium, authorities launched six raids in the Brussels region Thursday linked to Bilal Hadfi, one of the three suicide bombers who blew themselves up outside the Stade de France.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius urged the international community to do more to eradicate the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attacks on a rock concert, Parisian cafes and the national stadium.
France has stepped up its airstrikes against extremists in Syria, and French military spokesman Col. Gilles Jaron said Thursday that French forces have destroyed 35 Islamic State targets in Syria since the attacks on Paris. Next week, French President Francois Hollande is going to Washington and Moscow to push for a stronger international coalition against IS.
In its English-language magazine, Islamic State said it will continue its violence and "retaliate with fire and bloodshed" for insults against the Prophet Muhammad and "the multitudes killed and injured in crusader airstrikes."
Molins said investigators were still trying to identify the recipient of the message.
A Spanish security official said French authorities had sent a bulletin to police across Europe asking them to watch out for a Citroen Xsara car that could be carrying Salah Abdeslam, whose brother, Brahim, was among the attackers who blew themselves up.
The state of emergency expands police powers to carry out arrests and searches, and allows authorities to forbid the movement of persons and vehicles at specific times and places.