November 14, 2015

​State of emergency declared in France as terror attacks kill over 150 in Paris

Saturday 14 Nov 2015 - 11:43 Makkah mean time-2-2-1437

Paris (IINA) - France has declared a nation-wide state of emergency, decided to close its borders, and deployed its army in and around Paris after more than 150 people were killed and scores of others injured in multiple shootings, a 100-person hostage crisis, and explosions rocked the French capital late on Friday, according to media reports.
The drastic measures were announced by French President Francois Hollande who made a televised address late on Friday evening, just minutes before midnight. The attack is believed to be the biggest to take place in a France's history, Al Arabiya News channel reported. A total of eight militants were killed, including seven by their suicide belts, during Friday's attacks, according to AFP.  Four of the attackers were killed in the Bataclan concert hall, three by activating their suicide vests and one shot by police. Three more died near the national stadium and a fourth was killed in a street in eastern Paris.
Eighty people were reported killed after gunmen burst into the Bataclan concert hall and took dozens hostage, BBC reported. The siege ended when security forces stormed the building. People were shot dead at bars and restaurants at five other sites in Paris. Eight attackers are reported to have been killed. Police believed all of the gunmen were dead but it was unclear if any accomplices were still on the run after the string of near-simultaneous attacks. Paris residents have been asked to stay indoors and about 1,500 military personnel are being deployed across the city
The gunmen's motives were not immediately confirmed, but one witness at the Bataclan heard one of the attackers appear to express support for the militant Islamic State (IS) group. "It's Hollande's fault, he shouldn't have intervened in Syria!" the man shouted, according to AFP, citing the French president's decision to take part in Western air strikes on IS. Paris saw three days of attacks in early January, when Islamist gunmen murdered 18 people after attacking satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman on patrol.
The following are the attack sites: Bataclan concert venue, 50 boulevard Voltaire, 11th district - gun and suicide bomb attacks; Stade de France, St Denis, just north of Paris - explosions near venue as France played Germany in friendly football match; Le Carillon bar, 18 rue Alibert, 10th district - gun attack; Le Petit Cambodge restaurant, 20 rue Alibert, 10th district - gun attack; La Belle Equipe, 92 rue de Charonne, 11th district - gun attack; and La Casa Nostra restaurant, 2 rue de la Fontaine au roi, 11th district - gun attack.
The attack on the 1,500-seat Bataclan hall was by far the deadliest of Friday night's attacks. Gunmen opened fire on concert-goers watching US rock group Eagles of Death Metal. The event had been sold out. The series of attacks not far from the Place de la Republique and the Place de la Bastille struck at the heart of the capital when cafes, bars and restaurants were at their busiest. Customers were singled out at venues including a pizza restaurant and a Cambodian restaurant.
The other target was the Stade de France, on the northern fringe of Paris, where President Hollande and 80,000 other spectators were watching a friendly international match between France and Germany, with a TV audience of millions more. The president was whisked to safety after the first of at least two explosions just outside the venue to convene an emergency cabinet meeting. Three attackers were reportedly killed there. As the extent of the bloodshed became clear, Hollande went on national TV to announce a state of emergency for the first time in France since 2005. The decree enables the authorities to close public places and impose curfews and restrictions on the movement of traffic and people
Within an hour, security forces had stormed the concert hall and all four attackers there were dead. Three had blown themselves up and a fourth was shot dead by police. Another attacker was killed in a street in eastern Paris, reports said. Speaking after arriving at the concert hall, President Hollande said the attackers would be fought "without mercy".
Paris Mayor Ann Hidalgo announced that all schools, museums, libraries, gyms, swimming pools and markets would be shut on Saturday. It's just 10 months since Paris was the scene of multiple terrorist attacks, first the massacre of staff at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and then a hostage-taking at a Jewish supermarket. What happened in Paris on Friday night is exactly what Europe's security services have long feared, and tried to foil. Simultaneous, rolling attacks, with automatic weapons and suicide bombers in the heart of a major European city, targeting multiple, crowded public locations.
HA/IINA

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