Three people reported dead in Paris as French police target the ‘mastermind’ behind the Paris attacks

Three people have been reported dead after police raided an apartment in the north of Paris this morning.

Police raided the apartment this morning in the northern suburb of Saint Denis, where the Stade de France, one of the targets of the attacks on Friday night, is located. According to the BBC, the focus of the raid is believed to be Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who is alleged to be the ‘mastermind’ behind the attacks on the French capital on Friday night. Three suspects have been reported dead as a result of the raid this morning, including a woman who is alleged to have blown herself up with a suicide vest. Gunshots and explosions were heard in Saint Denis this morning, where approximately 50 soldiers joined armed police. Roads around the Rue de la Republique, meanwhile, where bombs were detonated on Friday night, have been closed off. According to French radio station RTL, five suspects were believed to be targeted in a raid on a third floor apartment, including Abaaoud, who police believe orchestrated the attacks from the apartment having initially thought he had been in Syria while they took place. Two police officers are believed to have been wounded in a raid that started at approximately 4.30am local time this morning. Commenting on the raid, Deputy Mayor Stephane Peu urged residents in the area to stay indoors, saying that the incident this morning was "not a new attack but a police intervention". The events in Paris this morning come after a scheduled friendly between Germany and the Netherlands was called off last night after security officials uncovered “concrete plans to cause an explosion” at the match venue in Hannover.