Female Suicide Bomber Detonates Vest When French Authorities Raid Radical Islamic Neighborhood

Katie Pavlich | November 18, 2015 8:12 AM

As the hunt for the terrorists and those who helped them carry out the ISIS attack in Paris last week continues, it was a bloody night in France overnight as authorities conducted a seven hour long raid on a radial Islamic neighborhood. Two people are dead after a woman detonated her suicide vest and seven others have been arrested.

According to reports the raid was conducted in search for the Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the 27-year -old Belgian mastermind behind last week's attacks.

Residents said an initial explosion shook the neighborhood at about 4 a.m. (10 p.m. EST).

"Then there was second big explosion. Then two more explosions. There was an hour of gunfire," said Baptiste Marie, a 26-year-old independent journalist who lives in the neighborhood.

Another witness, Amine Guizani, said he heard the sound of grenades and automatic gunfire.

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

The use of suicide bombers in the West, especially female suicide bombers, is particularly concerning and a tactic that hasn't been widely used outside of the Middle East.