Woman who died in Paris raid had been under police surveillance
Hasna Aitboulahcen lived a secular life, drinking alcohol and rarely visiting a mosque, but police say she died an extremist’s death: blowing herself up by detonating a suicide vest.
The 26-year-old daughter of a Moroccan immigrant had been under police surveillance because her name came up in a drug-trafficking case, a police union official said.
Aitboulahcen died on Wednesday as police closed in on an apartment in suburban Saint-Denis, along with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the man suspected of orchestrating the attacks across Paris on November 13 that killed 129 people.
It is not known if she had any role in the attacks.
Also unclear is her exact connection to 28-year-old Abaaoud, the son of a Moroccan-born shopkeeper in Brussels.
Three police officials said Aitboulahcen often described herself as his “cousin”, but the term is also used by young French people of North African descent to refer to close friends who are no blood relation.
Her final moments were marked by a brief, angry exchange with police during the siege.
“Where is your boyfriend?” an officer demanded, according to an official.
She replied: “He’s not my boyfriend!”
Then there was an explosion, which police said was the detonation of the bomb in her vest.
Parts of her mangled body were blown onto a police car parked outside the apartment where she and nine others, including Abaaoud, engaged in an hours-long standoff.
Born in the Paris suburb of Clichy-la-Garenne, Aitboulahcen moved to the eastern French town of Creutzwald with her parents and four siblings when she was 16.
She had a sister and two brothers, Creutzwald mayor Jean-Luc Wozniak said. He added that the four siblings spent some time in foster care, and the family moved into an apartment located in a housing project in 2006.
Some years later Aitboulahcen left Creutzwald and settled in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, returning occasionally to visit her father, Mr Wozniak said.
Her father, who was born in Marrakech, and her older sister moved to Morocco, the mayor added.
Paris updates: Female suicide bomber detonates vest during early morning raids https://t.co/rPXNcBubh0 pic.twitter.com/eBeYRQbYw0
— Mashable (@mashable) November 18, 2015
Two years ago, Aitboulahcen briefly managed a construction company based in the Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine that went bankrupt less than 10 months later, according to an official registry of company filings.
Neighbours and relatives quoted by French media said she drank alcohol and rarely attended a mosque.
Because her name came up in a drug-trafficking case, Aitboulahcen was under surveillance, and her movements may have led authorities to the Saint-Denis flat.
Authorities had tapped her phone at the time of the raid, according to two police officials. They did not say when the wiretap began.
