Earlier reports believed that Hasna’s call to help was a trap
London: Hasna Ait Boulahcen, the cousin of Paris mastermind Abdelhamid Abaoud, did not really blow herself up during the Saint Denis raid, but was killed when another member of the terror cell detonated the explosives.
According to a report in Daily Mail, three people died during the raid on the 3rd floor apartment in Saint Denis- the Paris attacks mastermind Abaoud, cousin, Hasna adn a third unidentified member. The police believe that the third man must have set off his own suicide vest, which killed Hasna, unlike what was previously thought.
Earlier reports believed that Hasna’s call to help was a trap and that she was probably the first suicide bomber to operate in Europe.
Hasna appeared on the window of the flat where the terrorists were holed up shortly after 6 am. There was a brief lull in the exchange of fire between the terrorists and the police forces, when the woman appeared on the third floor window. She looked down and yelled out for help.
Though the police asked her to identify herself, the woman didn't reveal her face, but put up her arms. She then withdrew her hands out of sight. This was repeated several times, before shooting resumed. "The police shouted at her to keep her hands in the air. They told her they would shoot. And the shooting resumed. The police were firing from the roof of the opposite building. Suddenly there was an enormous explosion….," an eyewitness was earlier quoted as saying. Pieces of human flesh were thrown into the street, and bits of skin and ribs could still be seen lying there, the witness added.
Recalling the previous day, when Hasna Aitboulahcen walked past him to the local KFC, another eye witness, Mahdi Hadi, said "She was not pretty. She was wearing a denim jacket and jeans, and white scarf. I did not think she looked French, maybe Brazilian. She had frizzy hair and was not wearing a headscarf. She walked past me and went into the KFC, and came back with some food and went into the flat. She was totally casual and relaxed, nothing seemed to be worrying her."
Hasna, a French Moroccan national, grew up in Paris, and had her own business, which closed down in 2014. It is believed that the 26-year-old was already on the intelligence radar.
More human parts, a handbag and Hasna’s French passport were also recovered from the debris of the apartment block in Saint Denis.
