2015 - France - "Act of War" by I.S. Suicide Bombers Kill 127 in Paris Terror Attacks - 14/11/15

• published: 14 Nov 2015
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Daniela Ritorto presents this special edition of BBC World Breaking News, recorded at 1200hrs SGT on 14 Nov 2015. The near-simultaneous attacks in Paris that killed at least 127 people and wounded more than 180 were an "act of war" organised by Islamic State, says France's President Francois Hollande. He said the attacks, carried out by eight gunmen and suicide bombers, were "organised and planned from outside". __________________________________________________ (BBC News, 14 Nov 2015) - France has declared a national state of emergency and tightened borders after at least 120 people were killed in a night of gun and bomb attacks in Paris. Eighty people were reported killed after gunmen burst into the Bataclan concert hall and took dozens hostage. 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 French news agency 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. Busiest time 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 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, Mr 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". US President Barack Obama spoke of "an outrageous attempt to terrorise innocent civilians". UK PM David Cameron said he was shocked and pledged to do "whatever we can to help". Paris Mayor Ann Hidalgo announced that all schools, museums, libraries, gyms, swimming pools and markets would be shut on Saturday. __________________________________________________ Analysis: BBC's Europe correspondent Damian Grammaticas 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. The tactics have been used before, in Mumbai and elsewhere. But how they've come to Europe is one of many questions that will have to be answered. Were the attackers French citizens? If so, how they were radicalised, armed and organised - was it in France, in Syria, and by whom? Why weren't they detected? Is France, after two major attacks this year, uniquely vulnerable or does the carnage in Paris mean all of Europe faces new threats to our public places and events? And if a Syrian link is proven, will France recoil from that conflict or will it redouble its commitment to the fight against radical groups there? Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34820016 __________________________________________________