Friday night saw the deadliest violence befall France since World War II. The Washington Post reports a timeline showing that the assault on Paris began after explosions rocked the stadium—Stade de France—at approximately 9:20pm local time, where the president of France, François Hollande, was in attendance.
Shortly after, there were assaults at five other locations—restaurants, bars, and a concert venue. The attack sites included: La Belle Equipe, Le Carillon bar, Le Petit Cambodge restaurant, La Cosa Nostra restaurant, and the Bataclan concert venue, BBC reports.
By far, the deadliest attack took place at Bataclan, where at least 80 were killed attending a concert by the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal, according to CNN. At the moment, Washington Post reports that the Paris prosecutor’s office places the number of dead at 129, while officials say that more than 350 people were wounded with 100 having serious injuries. One of the deceased includes a 23-year-old American student named Nohemi Gonzalez, CNN reports. However, at this early stage, these numbers are subject to fluctuation as the events come into clearer focus.
According to NBC News, the assailants worked in three teams when striking those (at least) six locations across the capital. François Mollins, the Paris prosecutor, said that seven attackers were killed during the massacre, six of whom blew themselves up using explosive belts—one was shot dead by French police. However, according to the New York Times authorities are now searching for an eighth assailant who might have fled the scene.
The New York Times reports that a transcript from the SITE Intelligence group said that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack via an announcement published in Arabic, English and French on the Islamic State’s Telegram account, which was then distributed by their supporters on Twitter. Here’s part of the statement:
Let France and all nations following its path know that they will continue to be at the top of the target list for the Islamic State and that the scent of death will not leave their nostrils as long as they partake in the crusader campaign, as long as they dare to curse our Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), and as long as they boast about their war against Islam in France and their strikes against Muslims in the lands of the Caliphate with their jets, which were of no avail to them in the filthy streets and alleys of Paris. Indeed, this is just the beginning. It is also a warning for any who wish to take heed.
NBC News reports that President Hollande vowed to be “merciless” with his nation’s foes and described the attacks as “cowardly” and as an “act of war committed by a terrorist army.” In addition, Hollande said: "We will work alongside our allies to fight this terrorist menace ... France is strong and even if she is wounded she will get up always and nothing will hold her down, even if we are feeling the grief now ... We will defend ourselves."
According to BBC, President Hollande has tightened borders and declared a national state of emergency—the first time for France since 2005—which allows French authorities to close public places and impose curfews along with other restrictions.
On Friday night, President Obama gave a statement from the White House Briefing Room, condemning the Paris terror attacks as an “outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians” and asserted that, “This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share,” CNN reports. The president also pledged solidarity with the French people and government: “We stand prepared and ready to provide whatever assistance the people of France need to respond.”
Important to note that on Saturday, some prominent Muslims condemned the Paris terror attacks. USA Today writes, “Shuja Shafi, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, an umbrella body that represents more than 500 organizations including mosques, schools and charities, described the killings as ‘horrific and abhorrent.’” He extended his condolences to the families of those killed and injured and stated, “This attack is being claimed by the group calling themselves ‘Islamic State’. There is nothing Islamic about such people and their actions are evil, and outside the boundaries set by our faith.”
USA Today also reports that Tariq Ramadan, a professor of Islamic studies at Oxford University in England and president of the European Muslim Network think tank called for “absolute and immediate condemnation.” Fateh Kimouche, founder of the prominent French Muslim blog Al Kanz, said that all of France needed to put up a “united front against terrorists.” Yahya Adel Ibrahim, an Islamic teacher and imam in Australia, wrote on Facebook: “This criminal barbarity is Godlessness. Terrorism has no faith & cannot be condoned by any means, rationale or ideology. We must commit to each other to defeat it. Godless cowards attack unarmed, randomly selected, innocent people. Terrorists are Sinful, immoral, barbaric criminals. My thoughts & prayers are with the innocent victims, their families and communities.”
According to BBC, the Vatican called it “an attack on peace for all humanity” and called for a response “on the part of all of us as we counter the spread of homicidal hatred in all its forms.”
On Saturday, the investigation extended beyond France as Belgian authorities made a number of arrests and raids, discovering that a car rented in Brussels was found near one of the attack locations in Paris, CNN reports. Paris prosecutor François Molins said on Saturday that one of the terrorists in Paris has been identified as a 30-year-old French national from the Paris suburb Courcouronnes, according to CNN.
As of Saturday night, CNN reports learning from a French member of Parliament that one of the suicide murderers was Ismael Omar Mostefai. Jean-Pierre Gorges, mayor of Chartres and member of Parliament, said that Mostefai lived in Chartres at least until 2012, according to CNN. Surely there will be more information revealed in the coming hours and days.
This violent siege of Paris has come in the wake of the bombing of the Russian jet that killed 224 people—to which ISIS has also claimed responsibility—the Charlie Hebdo murders and the attack on the kosher supermarket, both of which also occurred in Paris.
