France Under Siege: More than 150 Dead, Hundreds Wounded, President Closes Borders

The Associated Press
The Associated Press
John Hayward

Reports are coming in from Paris on Friday afternoon of a shootout at a restaurant, and an explosion in a bar near the Stade de France stadium, where a soccer game between France and Germany was in progress. Multiple fatalities have been reported at the restaurant.

12:43 AM EST– President Obama’s and John Kerry’s odd, stilted condemnation of the attacks gets echoed by–Iranian president Hassan Rouhani.

11:21 PM EST– Several assailants in the jihadist attack died by “suicide belts”:

10:44 PM EST– Vatican releases a statement:

At the Vatican we are following the terrible news from Paris. We are shocked by this new manifestation of maddening terrorist violence and hatred which we condemn in the most radical way, together with the pope and all those who love peace. We pray for the victims and the wounded, and for all the French people. This is an attack on the peace of all mankind which requires a decisive and supportive response by all of us to counter the spread of homicidal hatred in all of its forms.

10:38 PM EST– Updated casualty figures from AFP:

Paris (AFP) – On top of at least 120 people killed in the wave of attacks across Paris on Friday, more than 200 were injured, including 80 seriously, a source close to the investigation said.

The attacks took place at a concert hall and several bars and restaurants in eastern Paris, as well as the Stade de France national stadium north of the centre.

10:31 PM EST– NBC revises its report, saying no members of Eagles of Death Metal have been confirmed to have been killed.

10:03 PM EST– Several outlets report that the jihadists at the Bataclan killed a member of  the American band”Eagles of Death Metal.”

https://twitter.com/GrasswireNow/status/665362328318181377

9:45 PM EST– The Paris police chief has said that all of the suspected terrorists are believed to be dead:

9:40 PM EST– From the U.S. State Department: For inquiries regarding a U.S. citizen in Paris, you can call 1-888-407-4747 (from the United States) or 202-501-4444 (overseas).

9:35 PM EST– The U.S. State Department advises American citizens in Paris to shelter in place:

9:30 PM EST– The Paris terror attack was the second deadliest on a Western city since 9/11. Worst since the 2004 Madrid train bombings:

9:25 PM EST– Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi condemns the Paris terror attacks:

9:15 PM EST– Five suspected terrorists have been “neutralized,” French officials say:

9:08 PM EST– The Muslim Brotherhood refuses to directly condemn the Paris attack:

9:03 PM EST– France’s State of Emergency laws reportedly allow for the government to “operate with extraordinary powers.”

8:58 PM EST– Breitbart Tech Editor Milo Yiannopoulos documents how the Left is blaming Conservatives and warning against “Islamophobia” in the wake of today’s Paris terror attacks:

https://twitter.com/Nero/status/665347037701935104

 

8:50 PM EST– Mapping the 7 terror sites:

8:45 PM EST– Horrifying details of what went on inside of the Bataclan:

8:41 PM EST– Two months ago, the Mayor of Paris welcomed Arabic-speaking migrants with open arms:

8:40 PM EST– ISIS has in the past educated its followers on how to properly use a grenade:

8:34 PM EST– Campus Social Justice Warriors complain about not getting enough press coverage in the wake of the jihadi terror attacks in Paris:

Screen Shot 2015-11-13 at 8.37.36 PM

8:32 PM EST– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Israel stands shoulder to shoulder with President Francois Hollande and with the French people in the war against terrorism.”

8:25 PM EST– Buildings around the world light up in solidarity with the French people:

https://twitter.com/PopCultureShady/status/665336604530188288/photo/1

8:21 PM EST– An unnamed counter-terrorism official tells NBC foreign correspondent Richard Engel that the attack has the sophistication of an Al Qaeda operation:

8:18 PM EST– French President Francois Hollande says “our fight will be ruthless” against ISIS;

8:15 PM EST– Dr. Ben Carson on today’s attacks:

8:15 PM EST– Donald Trump expresses his condolences:

8:14 PM EST– Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on today’s deadly attacks in Paris:

8:10 PM EST– One World Trade Center in New York City:

8:05 PM EST– French President Francois Hollande says the borders will shut down due to the “unprecedented terror attacks.”

8:02 PM EST– Lt. Col. Ralph Peters tells Fox: “Don’t lawyer up terrorists, kill terrorists.”

7:58 PM EST– American Airlines has decided to temporarily suspend flights to Paris in the wake of tonight’s attacks:

7:53 PM EST– Unconfirmed reports say that a massive fire has broken out at the Calais migrant camp:

 

7:51 PM EST– From Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, an anti-ISIS group in Syria:

7:49 PM EST– The death toll has again risen, this time to an estimated 158 dead:

https://twitter.com/CNNTURK_ENG/status/665328828676354054

7:40 PM EST– 1,500 French soldiers are being deployed to the streets of Paris:

7:35 PM EST– New casualty figures say at least 140 have been killed in terror attacks throughout France:

 

7:31 PM EST– Breitbart News’ White House Correspondent Charlie Spiering reports:

7:28 PM EST– The NBA and NFL have heightened security measures following the attacks in Paris:

7:23 PM EST– From U.S. Vice President Joe Biden:

 

7:18 PM EST– The Eiffel Tower has gone dark out of respect to the victims:

7:17 PM EST– New estimates state that death toll at the convert venue alone was as many as 100 people:

7:13 PM EST– French military apparatus drive into Paris:

https://twitter.com/idfelite/status/665312401353404416

7:11 PM EST– An ISIS-affiliated website rejoices in celebration of today’s attacks in Paris:

7:03 PM EST– ISIS supporters have taken to social media to celebrate the slaughter of innocents:

7:01 PM EST– From U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry:

6:56 PM EST– French police have reportedly neutralized the terrorists holding hostages at the Bataclan venue:

6:54 PM EST– Man arrested in connection to attacks reportedly tells officials, “I am ISIS.”

 

6:50 PM EST– German Chancellor Angela Merkel expresses solidarity with the victims of the “apparent” terror attack:

6:48 PM EST– Germans take to the streets in solidarity with the French people:

 

6:46 PM EST– Automatic gunfire heard in video from tonight’s attacks:

6:45 PM EST– Paris hospitals are asking for blood donors to support incoming victims:

6:44 PM EST– Video of emergency services rushing to the Bataclan:

6:37 PM EST– French police have now stormed the concert hall where hostages were reportedly being executed one-by-one:

6:35 PM EST– Security sources now tell ABC News that today’s attacks have taken place in seven separate locations:

https://twitter.com/ABCNews24/status/665311141413830656

6:31 PM EST– Reports of ongoing gun battles between terrorists and police:

 

 

6:29 PM EST– Hostages are being executed one by one, Fox News reports:

 

6:25 PM EST– Shots heard at the Bataclan, where as many as 100 people have reportedly been taken hostage:

 

 

6:21 PM EST– CNN reports that Paris stadium attack was likely a suicide bombing:

 

 

6:19 PM EST– New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on the terror attacks:

6:18 PM EST– Sen. Marco Rubio expresses his condolences

 

6:16 PM EST– A source tells Raheem Kassam, Breitbart London’s Editor-In-Chief:

https://twitter.com/RaheemKassam/status/665303217270575105

6:14 PM EST– From Breitbart California’s Adelle Nazarian:

 

6:09 PM EST– This is the first State of Emergency declared in France in decades, according to reports:

 

6:03 PM EST– Statement from President Obama on the unfolding situation in France:

5:57 PM EST— French President Francois Hollande has announced the country will close its borders in response to the attack. Security sources say shutting all of France’s borders will be a tall task:

5:55 PM EST— Art from Breitbart London:

5:52 PM EST— Parisian authorities are warning residents not to leave their homes until the situation is resolved.

5:50 PM EST— In a press conference, President Obama offers aid and condolences to the French nation, evoking their sense of “liberté, egalité and fraternité,” but not mentioning radical Islam or terrorism. President Obama notes he has chosen not to call President Francois Hollande yet so as to not distract from the urgent working of handling the developing situation. “We stand together with them in the fight against terrorism and extremism,” he concludes. 5:47 PM EST— Breitbart’s Joel Pollak has more on Eagles of Death Metal, the California band playing the theater attacked in Paris tonight. 5:43 PM EST— The threat on Les Halles shopping mall also threatened to attack a number of Western malls, including the Mall of America in Minnesota, home to a large Somali-American population:

5:38 PM EST— BREAKING: Reuters reporting yet another shooting, this one at Les Halles shopping mall. Sky News notes that the mall boasts “the biggest underground station in Western Europe.” The mall had been cited by the newly ISIS-affiliated, previously Al Qaeda-affiliated Somali terrorist group Al Shabaab as a potential target:

Death toll now at more than 60:

5:32 PM EST— On Sky News, Francois Heisbourg, former national security advisor to France and current Chairman of the IISS think tank, says “There is only one organization today that would appear to have this capability and that is a jihadi organization.” Meanwhile, ISIS fans have begun to celebrate, using the hashtag باريس_تشتعل#, or #ParisinFlames:

“God is the greatest… punishment as provided by your hands for you, impure: taste the taste of death that you give to drink to the innocent innocent.”

“A Massive operation by the grace of Allah above and his power.”

5:29 PM EST— Eyewitnesses who escaped theater say terrorists used pump-action shotgun. Reports of shouts of “allahu akbar” and “it’s for Syria”. There are no estimates of how many remain inside the theater now that some have reportedly escaped:

5:27 PM EST— Reuters reports that U.S. officials are saying the believe the attack on the Paris stadium and restaurant and hostage situation in the theater are related.

French television

“>has raised the death toll of the attack to 40. Meanwhile, more images are beginning to surface of both attacks, and the gruesome aftermath:

5:21 PM EST–The band playing at Bataclan Theater tonight, where the hostages are being held, is a Californian band called Eagles of Death Metal. Their new album, the band joked in an interview, was released because their absence from music caused “all sorts of Middle East troubles”:

And we realize that our lack of putting out a record, that absence of Eagles of Death Metal music, had a really negative byproduct. There were all sorts of Middle East troubles and all these other things, so we’re sorry for that. We didn’t wanna cause that by not putting out music, but we figured now that we’re gonna put this stuff out, most of the world should kind of come back together like before.

So essentially Zipper Down is the Eagles of Death Metal response to terrorism>

Yeah. We put out a record and human rights are better, the world feels better, people make more money, there’s less anger, people are more respectful to women and to homosexuals, and they’re generally nicer each other, they’re kinder to each other, and that’s why we really felt like it was time to let the healing begin.

5:13 PM EST–Paris police say there are now about 100 hostages trapped in Paris theater:

5:13 PM EST— British Prime Minister David Cameron has issued a statement offering “whatever we can do to help” to the French government:

5:11 PM EST— The UK Telegraph reports that a man inside Bataclan theater was able to speak to Paris radio, and says he heard cries of “Allahu akbar”:

Louis, inside the Bataclan, told France Info radio the men opened fire and shouted “Allah Akbar”.
He only saw silhouettes. He said: “The men came in and started shooting. Everyone fell to the ground. It was hell.
I took my mum, and we hid. Someone near us said they have gone, so we ran out. I was only thinking of escaping.
We’re out now. I think people are still inside.
It’s a nightmare – a nightmare.”

5:05 PM EST–Paris Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman tells CNN police are beginning to feel confident it is a terror attack – and, if it is, “it could be worst ever in Paris”:

5:05 PM EST— More images from the scene of the incident, including video of police entering the scene:

5:01 PM EST— The Daily Beast is reporting that up to 60 hostages are being held in the Bataclan theater of Paris. 5:01 PM EST— Sky News now reporting the death toll has risen to 26.

4:57 PM EST–Sky News reporting that the bar that was attacked is located across the street from the offices of satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which also suffered a mass shooting, that one at the hand of jihadists, in January. A live feed of Sky News here:

  One Associated Press journalist who was in the stadium reported hearing “two explosions loud enough to penetrate the sounds of cheering fans,” followed by police sirens and the appearance of a helicopter. News 1130 reported a terrifying situation at the restaurant, with nearly a dozen dead plus multiple injuries, after “attackers apparently stormed the eateries, heavily armed with guns and grenades.” The New York Post writes of a man armed with a Kalashnikov rifle fatally shooting several people and wounding seven others at the restaurant.  The NYP also mentions that the German soccer team playing in the stadium was evacuated from its hotel in western Paris this morning after a bomb threat, but returned safely later. The BBC’s report supports the account in the New York Post, adding a report of four deaths from a Parisian newspaper… but adds another report of shootings near the Bataclan arts center, plus the explosion at the bar near the stadium.  A BBC journalist reported seeing at least ten people dead or seriously injured at the restaurant. The BBC says French President Francois Hollande was in attendance at the soccer game, but has been evacuated. Late reports have updated the death toll to at least 18.  Meanwhile, another crisis was added at a fourth location: a hostage standoff at a theater.

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