The French police continues to conduct raids in the suburbs of Paris in search of at least two fugitives suspected of involvement in the recent terror attacks that killed 129 people.

Before dawn on Wednesday morning, police officers stormed St. Denis in northern Paris. But they were unsuccessful in finding the suspects.

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Several raids have been conducted by French authorities in many parts of the country following the deadly attacks. Hundreds of suspected terrorists have been taken into custody for questioning as part of the operatiion.

At the beginning of the raid, a woman holed up in an apartment detonated her suicide vest and died even before the police could capture her, according to police reports.

Three men, who were in the apartment, were arrested by police forces but their identities have yet to be released.

The Paris prosecutor's office said the raids were being conducted in search of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian jihadist suspected of organizing the attacks. The office, however, could not confirm whether Abaaoud was in the apartment when the suicide bomber killed herself.

The raid was carried out at 4am Wednesday. Repeated heavy gunfire was heard at the suburbs of northern Paris in an apartment near Place Jean Jaures, a main square in St. Denis.

The apartment is not far from the Stade de France, where three of the seven terrorists who died on Friday, blew themselves up.

The police did not give any more details of the raid except to say that they were targeting three men who were hiding  in the apartment.

Mayor Didier Paillard and residents told a local tv station that the gunfire appeared to have lasted for 20 minutes. Helicopters hovered above the suburbs and residents were told by authorities to stay inside their houses.

St. Denis officials warned residents not to go out onto the streets as a safety precaution. Authorities also warned that several areas have been cordoned off to give way to police operations.

French officials led by President Francois Hollande were in the Elysee Palace monitoring the operation early Wednesday morning.

Earlier, US and French intelligence officials said they believe that Abaaoud was in Syria with the Islamic State militants. However, on Wednesday, news about Abaaoud's whereabouts surfaced, with reports saying that he might be one of the three men holed up in the St. Denis apartment.

Seven terrorists blew themselves up on Friday in a series of coordinated attacks on Paris and the French police have been on a massive manhunt for the suspected attackers who are on the run.

TagsFrench police, Paris terror attacks suspects, St. Denis, Paris suburbs, President Francois Hollande, Mayor Didier Paillard, suicide bombers, suicide vest, Stade de France, terrorist attacks, St. Denis Police Raid