. >> this is abdelhamid aboaaoud. we have learned that he has died. let's send it to nbc for that special report. >> this is an nbc news special report. here's matt lauer and savannah guthrie. >> good morning, everyone. a thursday morning. breaking news out of paris. the the suspected mastermind behind the attacks in paris last week is now dead. >> this comes from the paris prosecutor this morning confirming that man right there abdelhamid abaaoud did perish in those raids. th how were they able to make this confirmation? >> we were waiting for some time to get that body identified. we filmed it exclusively yesterday as it emerged from the apartments that had been targeted by police. the paris prosecutor saying this morning that they can confirm now that abdelhamid aboaaoud, the delay was due to the fact that the body was mangled, riddled with bullets and they had to identify the body through fingerprints and dna. remember, they went to the apartment because they had a tip off that abboud was there. they launched that raid early in the morning at 4:30