Hasna Ait Boulahcen – Europe’s first female suicide bomber – ‘did not blow herself up’

Jean-Michel Fauvergue, the head of the elite Raid unit that led the operation, described his officers “saturating the place with grenades” when firing continued after Aitboulahcen had blown herself up and a sniper had hit another man.

Officers eventually arrested three men from inside the building and another man and woman found outside.

Authorities believe they are part of a terror cell set to carry out a second attack, reportedly targeting Charles de Gaulle airport and Paris' financial district La Defense.

Francois Molins, the Paris prosecutor, said the operation neutralised a “new terrorist threat”, and that “everything led us to believe that, considering their armaments, the structured organisation and their determination, they were ready to act”.

The Independent