Paris attacks: Saint Denis police raid killed 3; suicide bomber was a male

The suicide bomber killed in Saint-Denis has been declared as a male after investigators sorted the body parts found in the flat raided by French police on Wednesday.

Hasna Ait Boulahcen, the woman who was earlier confirmed by the French authorities to be the suicide bomber, was not wearing the suicide belt. "The initial findings from the special police indicated that it (the suicide belt wearer) was her," a source close to the investigator said, according to the ABC. "But the skull we found on the pavement was not hers," the source added.

The news comes after French authorities declared that 3 militants including the suicide bomber died in the Saint-Denis raid. Among the three people killed in the Saint-Denis raid, one was the Paris attacks' mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud, second was Abaaoud's female cousin Ait Boulahcen and the identity of the third person is yet to be confirmed.

Due to heavy and intense fire exchange between the French police and the militants, investigators took almost a day to identify the bodies and announce that 3 militants had been killed instead of two.

Meanwhile, according to recent updates Paris death toll has been confirmed to have reached 130, reported AAP. In the wake of the terrorist attacks, French police carried out extensive raids throughout the country for continuous 5 days and investigations are still ongoing.

On Friday, Nov. 13, at around 9.30pm local time (Sat morning AEDT), gunmen and suicide bombers attacked more than 150 people across Paris. The death toll is expected to continue rising in the deadliest violence the city has seen since the 50s. In the coordinated attacks, seven locations across Paris were targeted, including a Cambodian restaurant and a bar.

French President Francois Hollande announced a state of emergency, with closing the nation's borders immediately after the attacks. The horrific event on Black Friday sent terror waves across France with different countries extending solidarity towards Paris.

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