(New Zealand Hearld) To her friends and neighbours she was the bubbly, outgoing girl who liked wearing large cowboy hats.
But early on Wednesday it became clear there was a far darker side to Hasna Aitboulahcen, when she achieved the dubious distinction of becoming Europe's first female suicide bomber.
The 26-year-old blew herself up as police stormed the flat where she was holed up with six fellow terrorists. The other terrorist killed in the siege was thought to be her cousin Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the ringleader of last Friday's attacks in Paris which left 129 dead.
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Shortly after 6am, as elite police and soldiers surrounded the flat in Saint-Denis, Aitboulahcen appeared at a window, shouting "help me, help me", perhaps to lure officers in. She is reported to have been the first to open fire, using a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
