A terror cell that was "ready to act" was neutralised during raids in Paris today, public prosecutor Francois Molins has said.
Heavily-armed officers raided the apartment in Saint Denis in search of the alleged mastermind of the Paris terror attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
Two suspects were killed during the police operation, including a woman who detonated a suicide vest she was wearing.
Speaking at a news conference in the French capital, Mr Molins said Abaaoud was not among eight people arrested at the apartment.
He added that three of the men detained during the raid are yet to be identified.
Mr Molins said police fired around 5,000 rounds during an hour-long exchange of fire with members of the terror cell.
He said police squads were initially thwarted by a reinforced door to the apartment, and faced nearly incessant fire as they worked to enter the premises.
The fate of the alleged mastermind of the Paris terror attacks remains unclear after the raid.
A senior police official said he believed Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who had previously been thought to be in Syria, was inside the building in Saint Denis with five other heavily armed people when more than 100 officers stormed the apartment early on Wednesday.
Mr Molins said the authorities are trying to determine what has happened to Abaaoud and identify who was inside.
He said police launched the raid after gathering information from tapped phone conversations, surveillance and witness accounts that he could be there.
President Francois Hollande, who chaired an emergency Cabinet meeting to monitor the operation, said he wants a "large coalition" to work together against Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
He has also paid tribute to the security forces.
After days of police activity in both France and Belgium to try and apprehend the suspects, explosions and gunfire rang out in Saint Denis as scores of police entered an apartment building shortly after 4am local time.
Nearby buildings were evacuated and an area around Place Jean Jaures was sealed off.
Residents posted footage of the siege earlier:
Sabrine, who lives below the apartment where the assault took place, told Le Parisien newspaper the scene was "like a war zone".
She said: "I was woken at about four in the morning by gunfire. I lay down on the floor with my baby. It was awful".
"I heard the explosions, dozens of gun shots. My ceiling began to collapse, there was dust everywhere. My baby was gripping on to me when he heard the guns go off. It was never-ending".
"I stayed on the floor for about two-and-a-half hours before leaving. The stairwell was destroyed, the building is wrecked. It was like a war zone".
French media has said a man has been arrested after reportedly claiming he put up the people in the flat that has been targeted.
A source close to the investigation into last week's terrorist attacks, which left 129 people dead and hundreds injured, has said the suspected militants holed up in the apartment had planned an attack on the city's La Defense business district as well.
The site of the siege was less than 2km from the Stade de France, one of the locations targeted in Friday's terror.
The French government has said all of the victims of the attack have been identified, adding in a statement that around 100 families have come to see the bodies.
An explosives search dog named Diesel was killed during the operation.
Calling the dog "indispensable", the French police have paid tribute to their fallen colleague on Twitter:
Les chiens d'assaut et de recherche d'explosifs: indispensables dans les missions des opérateurs du #RAID pic.twitter.com/vb5lGjnwjO
— Police Nationale (@PNationale) November 18, 2015
