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Paris Attacks: At Least 153 Killed in Gunfire and Blasts, 200 Wounded

Over 100 dead in concert venue alone as France closes its borders for the first time since 1944. Below are the latest updates from multiple sources.

[Latest developments, posted at 1:58 a.m. ET] from The Guardian

• Eight attackers also died, police say, seven of them by detonating explosive suicide belts.

• French President François Hollande, who was at the Stade de France at the time of the assaults, said:

“We are going to lead a war which will be pitiless. Because when terrorists are capable of committing such atrocities they must be certain that they are facing a determined France, a united France, a France that is together and does not let itself be moved, even if today we express infinite sorrow.”

• Paris residents have been told to stay in their homes and authorities say “all of the city’s amenities”, including schools, universities, museums, libraries, gyms, swimming pools and markets, will close on Saturday.

• Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, has cancelled his official visit to France, due to take place next week, in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

[Latest developments, posted at 11:17 p.m. ET] from CNN

• U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with French President Francois Hollande to offer condolences and assistance in the investigation, the White House said. Earlier, Obama said, “This is an attack not just on Paris, not just on the people on France, but an attack on all humanity and the universal values we share.” He called the attacks an “outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians.”]

• A total of six locations were attacked in and just outside the capital, Paris prosecutor François Molins told reporters Saturday.

The latest on the Paris attacks AFP[Latest developments, posted at 10:16 p.m. ET] 

A security source reports to Agence France Press that in addition to the dead, over 200 were wounded.

[Latest developments, posted at 9:07 p.m. ET] from CNN 

On a night when thousands of Paris residents and tourists were reveling and fans were enjoying a soccer match between France and world champion Germany, horror struck in an unprecedented manner. Terrorists — some with AK-47s, some reportedly with bombs strapped to them — attacked sites throughout the French capital and at the stadium where the soccer match was underway.

• A journalist who was at a concert at the Bataclan concert venue and escaped after the shooting started told CNN: “We lied down on the floor not to get hurt. It was a huge panic. The terrorists shot at us for 10 to 15 minutes. It was a bloodbath.” Julien Pearce didn’t hear the attackers speak, but he said one friend who escaped heard them talk about Iraq and Syria. Later, he said the men were speaking French.

• CNN affiliate BFMTV, citing French officials, said gunmen were still at large.

• At least 153 people were killed in the Paris and Saint-Denis shootings and bombings, French officials said. Among the victims, 112 were killed at Bataclan, according to the Interior Ministry. Saint-Denis is home to the national stadium where the soccer match was being played.

• Five suspected attackers have been “neutralized”, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Saturday, French media reported. It was unclear what that term precisely meant.

• Michael Dorio, brother of a member of the band that was playing at the Bataclan concert, said he spoke to Eagles of Death Metal drummer Julian Doris about 20-30 minutes after the attack. “He said he had been performing and heard the gunshots. They stopped playing and hit the deck and went backstage and exited,” Michael Dorio told CNN.

Update from the Huffington Post[Latest developments, posted at 8:21 p.m. ET]

  • At least 140 people have been killed in a series of attacks in Paris.
  • Attackers took hostages at a concert hall, where at least 100 deaths were reported. Police raided the theater and two assailants were killed.
  • French President Francois Hollande said the country would close its borders and declared a state of emergency.

France closed its borders and declared a state of emergency Friday after explosions, a shooting and a hostage situation in Paris left at least 140 people dead.

At least 100 were killed in an attack and hostage situation at the city’s Bataclan theater, police told multiple outlets. Police raided the theater and at least two assailants were killed, French media reported after midnight local time. The attack took place during a show by the U.S. rock group Eagles of Death Metal.

A separate assault also took place at a restaurant and bar in the city’s 10th district, leaving 11 people dead, according to The Associated Press.

[Latest developments, posted at 7:49 p.m. ET] from CNN on the attacks in Paris:

Scores of people are reported dead after what are being called terror attacks across Paris. Police early Saturday freed hostages at a concert hall where more than 100 people may have died. The attacks seemed to be planned to hit areas where many people would be gathered on a Friday night, officials said. CNN will update this story as information comes in:

• As many as 118 people were killed in the attacks in Paris, Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman said Saturday.

• CNN affiliate BFMTV reports that SWAT units stormed the Bataclan concert hall and that the siege is over. Two attackers were killed, a police union said. Police have brought out at least 100 hostages from the concert hall, a CNN producer said; some appear to be wounded. President Francois Hollande was on his way to the concert venue, according to French news agency AFP.

From the Washington Post:

France declared a state of emergency and sealed its borders Friday evening after a series of apparently coordinated terrorist attacks struck at sites across Paris, leaving scenes of horror and carnage outside a soccer stadium, at a café and inside a concert hall where a hostage situation played out late into the night.

The attacks left more than 100 people dead — and perhaps many more — spawning panic and chaos in a city where residents and tourists had only minutes earlier been enjoying a cool and quiet November evening.

At the concert hall, there were reports of gunfire and explosions as security forces moved in on hostage takers who had stormed a concert by an American rock band.

French television showed people evacuating the venue, walking out with their hands up. News media said the operation to secure the Bataclan theater was over and that two gunmen have been killed.

French news media reported that at least 100 people were killed at the concert hall alone. Police said the attackers threw explosives at the hostages, in addition to opening fire on them.

[Latest developments, posted at 6:43 p.m. ET]

Dozens of people are reported dead after a series of what appear to be coordinated attacks across Paris late Friday. A hostage situation is continuing at a concert hall. CNN will update this story as information comes in:

• At least 43 people are confirmed dead in multiple attacks across Paris, firefighters said early Saturday. CNN affiliate BFMTV reported earlier as many as 60 people had been killed.

• French radio reporter Julien Pearce was inside the Bataclan theater when gunmen entered. Two men dressed in black started shooting what he described as AK-47s, and after wounded people fell to the floor, the two gunmen shot them again, execution-style, he said. The two men didn’t wear masks and didn’t say anything. The gunfire lasted 10 to 15 minutes, sending the crowd inside the small concert hall into a screaming panic, said Pearce, who escaped. He said he saw 20 to 25 bodies lying on the floor. The hostage situation at the Bataclan continued early Saturday.

• One of the explosions at the Stade de France outside Paris appears to be a suicide bombing, a Western intelligence source receiving direct intelligence from the scene told CNN’s Deb Feyerick. A dismembered body, consistent with the aftermath of an explosion from that type of device, was found at the scene, the source said.

• People are inviting people off the streets into their apartments, reports Philip Crowther, Washington correspondent for France 24. They are following President Francois Hollande’s direction to stay indoors.

• Traffic on several subway lines has been interrupted following the attacks, the Paris police prefecture reported.

• At this hour, there is no credible or specific threat in the United States, according to a U.S. government official.

• Hollande, in an address to the nation, said he had declared a state of emergency, meaning borders will be closed. “We have to show compassion and solidarity and we also have to show unity and keep our cool. France must be strong and great,” he said.

• The Paris prefecture of police is instructing residents to stay home. The prefecture said via Twitter that people should stay inside “unless there’s an absolute necessity.”

• French authorities have launched a terrorism investigation, Eric Pelletier, a reporter with Le Pariesien, tells CNN Paul Cruickshank. There has been no official claim of responsibility, though ISIS has applauded the attacks on Twitter, Cruickshank reports.

• “This is an attack not just on Paris, not just on the people on France, but an attack on all humanity and the universal values we share,” U.S. President Barack Obama said at the White House. He called the attacks an “outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians.”

• At least 60 people have died in the attacks, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.

• At least six shootings took place in Paris and three explosions took place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis late Friday, CNN affiliate BFMTV said. Two or three gunmen entered the Bataclan concert hall while opening fire on law enforcement, BFMTV reported. A source earlier told CNN there were six to eight hostage takers, citing a person they were talking to inside the venue.

• Paris police tell CNN there were three attacks. Attackers reportedly used AK-47 automatic weapons.

Originally posted on Alternet.

 

Ryan Cristián
Ryan Cristián
"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see." - John Lennon Driven by a desire for accuracy, chef and independent news stalwart Ryan Cristián has a passion for the Truth. As a recent recipient of the Serena Shim Award For Uncompromising Integrity In Journalism, he understands that Americans want their news to be transparent, devoid of the opulence frothed out by today's corporate media. A cultured and insightful man with a worldly sense, Ryan's unjaded approach offers common sense to the individual racked by the ambiguous news cycle - a vicious and manipulative merry-go-round that keeps trenchant minds at a manageable distance from the truth. Avid writer & editor by day, Truth seeker by night, Ryan's reality defines what it means to be current.
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