BREAKING: Blonde Muslima Detonates Suicide Vest, Second Terrorist Shot Dead, Seven Arrested in Paris Raid

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This detailed report, which also includes useful background information on St. Denis, is from the Daily Mail:

BREAKING NEWS: Police gun battle at Paris apartment 'where ISIS mastermind was holed up' ends with his 'wife' blowing herself up with a suicide vest, one jihadi shot dead and seven arrested

• French police and special forces launch operation to storm Saint-Denis flat containing up to six Paris terrorists
• Mastermind behind Friday's massacres, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, was believed to be inside the Paris apartment
• Female suicide bomber detonated explosive vest after firing on police while one suspect killed by rooftop sniper
• Five people taken alive from flat and arrested as well as two others 'nearby' as stand-off ended after six hours
• Paris prosecutor refuses to confirm if Abaaoud was in flat and if so if he was captured or killed in the siege
• At least five police have been injured in the ferocious gunfight and the terrorists also shot and killed a police dog
• Witnesses told MailOnline there have been periods of intense machine gun fire and at least seven large explosions
• Man who rented flat to 'two Belgians' is arrested and claims: 'I didn't know they were terrorists. It was a favor'

A female terrorist wearing a suicide vest has blown herself up and another jihadi was killed by a grenade during a six-hour siege on a flat where police believe the Paris massacres mastermind and six other suspected terrorists were hiding. 

The stand-off between 100 French police and special forces and the Paris terror cell ended as a bloodied and half-naked suspect was dragged out of an apartment block through broken glass in Saint-Denis - close to the Stade de France. 

The gunfight started at 4.30am when SWAT teams and special forces surrounded the building believing it contained Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, the architect of the plots that killed 129 people. The French authorities will not say if he was there or if he is dead or alive. 

A woman 'with long blonde hair' who may be Abaaoud's jihadi bride is said to have fired her AK-47 at police before blowing herself up as an assault squad first stormed the apartment block. As she tried to kill police another terror suspect was killed by a grenade blast. 

Police said that five people in the flat and apartment block were taken alive and arrested while two others including the flat's owner were held 'nearby'. 

At least five police were injured in the ferocious gunfight including one shot in the foot seen being carried from the scene. The terrorists also gunned down a seven-year-old sniffer dog called Diesel, sent into the block to look for booby traps. 

Security services hunting for Abaaoud had been watching flats and tapping phones in Saint-Denis before they swooped this morning believing the world's most wanted man and other terrorists were inside. Police also feared the group were about to attack aris' business district, La Defense. 

Witnesses told MailOnline there were long periods of intense machine gun fire and at least seven large explosions, caused by the suicide bomber and possibly hand grenades. There were no hostages involved.

As the Saint-Denis siege ended after six hours this morning police revealed:

• Paris massacres mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 27, was believed to be inside the safehouse;
• Police and secret services were watching several flats in Saint-Denis and had tapped phones in the area before they swooped at 4.30am;
• Operation became more important after a tip-off that the Paris terror cell were about to launch a new attack on city's business district, La Defense;
• Two terror suspects have been killed. One was a female suicide bomber who blew herself up and the other was a man killed by a grenade
• Seven people have been arrested. Five were held in the flat or the apartment block and two more were held nearby
• Five police officers were injured. A Belgian Shepherd sniffer dog called Diesel was sent in to the block and killed by the terror cell

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said authorities are still working to determine the fate of Abaaoud - and identify those killed and arrested. 

He said confirmed three suspected jihadis were held in the flat and two more 'as they tried to hide in the rubble' of the block.He said: 'It is currently impossible to give the identify of those arrested, which is being verified. Everything will be done to work out who is who and thanks to forensics who and was in the apartment'. 

Mr Molins said police began the raid on Wednesday after gathering information that he could be in a safe house apartment in Saint-Denis. Mr Molins said the information was collected from tapped telephone conversations, surveillance and witness accounts. 

He told reporters in Saint-Denis after the operation was over that authorities are still working to determine who was inside. 

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve arrived in Saint-Denis and said: 'I would like to pay tribute to all those involved in the operation, 110 in total, who acted with bravery and under heavy fire in conditions that they had never experienced before. 

'I would also like to pay tribute to the cool-headedness of St Denis residents. They also contributed to the success of the operation'. 

Armed police appeared on a street outside the Saint-Denis flat before dawn today and then at least three trucks of soldiers and special forces arrived as back up. 

Witnesses told MailOnline said there were long periods of intense machine gun fire and at least seven large explosions, caused by the suicide bomber and possibly hand grenades. There were no hostages involved. 

Lotfi, a 50 year old who was in the area, said: 'I heard police officers talking to a woman with long blonde hair. 

'I think she was the kamikaze. They told her not to lower her arms, to keep her hands up in the air, and then there was a massive explosion. I think that's when she detonated her bomb. It really was a very loud explosion. 

'Lots of windows on the street were shattered, and then the firefight started and it was going on nonstop.' 

Lofti, who would not offer his surname, said he saw a police dog called Diesel blown to pieces. The German Shepherd was there to sniff out explosives. 

One of the arrested suspects is the man who appears to have rented the flat to the terror cell. 

Jawad Ben Dowt, 30, admitted in an interview near the under siege apartment on Rue de Corbillon he handed it over to two men 'who came from Belgium' two days ago. 

He said: 'A friend of mine asked me to host two of his buddies for a few days. 

'I said there was no mattress, they told me 'it's okay', they just wanted water and to pray. My friend said they were from Belgium. 

'I was asked to a favour and I said yes. I was not aware that it was terrorists' - moments later police grabbed him and put him in handcuffs. A female friend of his who was also held said she stayed there last week and described it as a 'squat' and said the Belgian men arrived on Monday.  

A woman living below the under-siege flat with her young baby described being 'woken up by an explosion'. 

She told French broadcaster BMFTV: 'I awoke to an explosion. After that I heard gun shots and there was lots of shooting. The terrorists were fighting at the police and the police were firing back. 

There were shots, explosions. We didn't know where to go. My son and I were in panic. There was dust falling from the ceiling because of the explosions. I kept shouting 'If you're from the police, please help me. I'm here with my baby. But they kept shooting and shooting'.

Benson Hoi, 29, a software engineer, lives just 100 metres away from the apartment which is under siege and was woken up by the sound of gunfire at around 4am this morning. 

He says he is terrified one of the suspects may blow themselves up, hitting the residents hiding in the surrounding apartments. 

Mr Hoi told MailOnline: 'I am right next to the scene and at the moment I can see about 100 police officers, soldiers and at least 50 police cars.' 

He said he initially thought fireworks were going off when he was woken by the sound of gunfire, but when he checked Twitter he realised what was happening outside his home. 

He said: 'After about 15 minutes of panicking I decided to live stream what was happening outside so the world could see what was happening. Police were telling people to stay away from their windows so i left my phone on the window sill. 

'I can still hear police shouting on the street now. I heard seven explosions a few minutes ago. 

'At first some people were leaving their apartments to see what was going on, and the police chucked them back into their apartments.' 

He said they have not been told anything else, and police are eurging residents to remain inside away from their windows and doors. 

He said: 'I'm still worrying for my life. If those people are suicide bombers I'm not exactly safe. 

'For the sake of common sense I'm staying away from the windows, but I do not feel safe.' 

Baptiste Marie, a 26-year-old journalist who lives near the scene of the stand-off, said: 'It started with an explosion. Then there was second big explosion. Then two more explosions. There was an hour of gunfire'. 

Riot police were clearing the streets early Wednesday, pointing guns at curious residents to move them off the roads and telling them to go home. 

Mr Marie said the officers seemed nervous - 'you could see it in their eyes, ' he said. 

Residents said they were first woken by an explosion which shook the neighbourhood at about 4am (3am GMT) as police surrounded the flat, although it is not known what led them to the building. 

Witnesses say this was followed by an hour of automatic gunfire and explosions as an intense firefight ensued between police and the suspects holed up in the apartment. 

Neighbour Amine Guizani said: 'They were shooting for an hour. Nonstop. There were grenades. It was going, stopping. Kalashnikovs. Starting again.' 

Teams of armed police appeared on a street outside the Saint-Denis flat before dawn today and then at least three trucks of soldiers and special forces arrived as back up. 

Police cordoned off the area nearby, including a pedestrian zone lined with shops and 19th-century apartment buildings, and cleared people from the streets, pointing guns at curious residents to move them off the roads. 

Sporadic bangs and blast continued and at 7.30am (6.30am) at least seven explosions shook the centre of Saint-Denis. 

A woman who may be Abaaoud's wife is said to have fired her AK-47 at police before blowing herself up with a suicide vest as an assault squad stormed the apartment block. 

As she tried to kill police, a rooftop sniper shot dead another terror suspect through a window. 

Police have confirmed that three people in the apartment were taken alive and arrested while two others were held nearby. 

An innocent person on the street is understood to have been killed in the crossfire and at least four police are believed to have been injured in the firefight. 

By 7.30am, the area had fallen quiet, but there continued to be with a heavy police presence as officers secured the area and pursued any further lines of enquiry.

Residents have been told to stay in their homes and away from windows and some have been moved to a temporary shelter in the town hall. Police have confirmed that several officers have been hurt. 

Caroline Chomienne, who runs a film school, Altermedia, in St Denis, was trapped in the building next to where the assault took place. 

'We'd been working all night on a film and my staff had been gone for some time when around 4.20am I heard shooting. Then they became louder and for on an hour it went on - bursts of fire from all sides but also sounds like bombs going off. 

'The walls were shaking it was horrific. It was like war. It was Beirut.' 

Now the director is thinking of quitting Paris. 

'Something like this doesn't surprise me,' she told Le Parisien, 'that terrorists have hidden here. In this district the cellars are full of weapons. Outside there is a dealer every 100mtrs. It's common knowledge around here that people go and come back from Syria with ease. The past year the atmosphere has been awful in the street...it's very hard.' 

Since the school was established in 1996 in the centre of Saint-Denis, the area has deteriorated added Caroline. 

'At first there was a real mix here, but in recent years people have just been leaving and the handful of young couples who arrive are horrified. After this morning I think we'll have to leave. I don't know if anyone will even come in to work today', she said. 

BFMTV and iTele both showed amateur video of the shootings and cited witnesses in the area saying they had heard sporadic gunfire since around 4.30am. 

Omar Dati, a 17-year-old student who lives in the area, said: 'Everybody could hear the shooting very early on. It was like a warzone – the soldiers were dressed in battle gear. 

'The explosions were very loud indeed and we were all terrified we would be shot. We didn't know where to run.'