Heavy Gunfire And Explosions In Paris Suburb

•Seven large explosions heard at the scene of a police siege in St-Denis 
•Comes after a 90-minute gun battle between police and terror suspects
•Three terrorists dead
•One includes a woman who detonated a suicide belt
•Siege targeted the suspected mastermind of the Paris massacre Abdelhamid Abaaoud
•Six suspects were barricaded inside an apartment that was raided by police
•Reports three police officers wounded and three people arrested
•Army deployed on streets

8:42 pm

CNN reports three terrorists have been killed in the siege, according to a police source, three others have been arrested, and three police officers have been injured.

8:20 pm

Police say two suspects in last week's Paris attacks - a man and a woman - have been killed in a police operation north of the capital.

An official with the Paris police department who was not authorised to be publicly named said two people have been detained, and two police officers injured in the standoff.

Police have said the operation is targeting the suspected mastermind of last week's attacks, believed to be holed up in an apartment in Saint-Denis with several other heavily armed suspects.

7:55 pm

A senior French police official says a large police operation north of Paris is targeting the suspected mastermind of last week's attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

The official says authorities believe Abaaoud is holed up in an apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, along with up to five other heavily armed people.

The official, who was not authorised to be publicly named according to police rules but is informed routinely about the operation, says that scores of police who stormed the building early Wednesday (French time) were met with unexpectedly violent resistance. Reinforcements were summoned and several people were injured.

Soldiers operate in St. Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. Photo / AP

7:50 pm

French channel iTele reports one of the three people who have died is a woman who blew herself up with a suicide belt.

7:45 pm

Authorities in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis have evacuated about 20 residents from a building where suspects linked to the Paris attacks are holed up in a standoff with police.

A city official not authorised to be publicly named told The Associated Press the residents were brought to city hall for protection. City hall is about 200 meters from the apartment building where the standoff is taking place on rue du Cornillon, in the heart of the historic, multicultural town just north of Paris.

7:35 pm

At least seven explosions have been heard at the scene of a police standoff with suspects in last week's deadly Paris attacks.

Associated Press reporters at the scene could hear what sounded like grenade blasts from the direction of the standoff in the heart of the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

The source of the blasts is unclear. Police say several people are holed up in an apartment and several police have been injured in an operation that has lasted at least three hours on Wednesday morning (French time).

Three men have been arrested and two officers injured after an exchange of gunfire in the northern Paris suburb of St-Denis. Photo/ Twitter

7:20 pm:

A resident of the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis describes intense gunfire and explosions during a police operation near the site of one of last week's deadly attacks.

Baptiste Marie, a 26-year-old independent journalist who lives near the scene of the standoff, tells The Associated Press: "It started with an explosion. Then there was second big explosion. Then two more explosions. There was an hour of gunfire."

Resident Amin Guizani, 21, says: "There were grenades. It was going, stopping. Kalashnikovs. Starting again."

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

Marie said the officers seemed nervous.

"You could see it in their eyes, " Marie said.

6:55 pm:

Police say anti-terrorist officers are raiding an apartment in a north Paris suburb where several men are holed up.

The Paris police department says officers have exchanged gunfire with the suspects and several police have been injured. The extent of their injuries is unknown.

It's unclear whether there are injuries among the suspects.

Police reinforcements are arriving at the scene in St. Denis.

6:27 pm:

Police vans and fire trucks are rushing to the scene of a SWAT team operation in the Paris suburb of Saint Denis that is linked to the deadly Paris attacks.

A helicopter is flying overhead at dawn Wednesday.

French television BFM and i-Tele say that the suspects are inside an apartment building.

Police have cordoned off the area nearby, including a pedestrian zone lined with shops and 19th-century apartment buildings.

Neighborhood resident Fabien Crombe said on BFM television that gunshots have repeatedly broken out since the police operation began, punctuated by silence and the sound of sirens.

Saint Denis Mayor Didier Paillard said transport has been stopped and schools in the center of town will not open Wednesday.

6:15 pm:

Authorities in the Paris suburb of Saint Denis are telling residents to stay inside during a large police operation near France's national stadium that two officials say is linked to last week's deadly attacks.

Deputy Mayor Stephane Peu told i-Tele television that there have been many gun shots and detonations in the operation that began at 4:25 a.m. Wednesday (French time) on rue de la Republique in the center of Saint Denis.

The Daily Telegraph reports counter-terrorist police are trying to arrest a suspect in Friday's attacks. Photo / Twitter

The site is less than two kilometers from the Stade de France, targeted by three suicide bombers during Friday's attacks.

He urged residents to stay home, saying "it is not a new attack but a police intervention."

Two officials say police operation now under way is connected to the investigation into Friday's attacks that killed 129 people.

- AP and NZ Herald