UPDATE: Man Arrested by French Police Says He is Associated with ISIS and these Attacks were an ISIS Operation
On Friday evening, in what is believed to be the deadliest attacks in “gun free zone” France in decades, terrorists launched multiple coordinated attacks throughout the city, with some of the locations being very near the site of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in January 2015. This is a live and ongoing terrorist attack with reports of new attacks being revealed.
FOX News reported that approximately 100 people are being held hostage and 60 people are confirmed dead near Stade de France at the Bataclan centre.
While the reports are still coming in, it is believed to be a series of coordinated attacks that include suicide bombings and mass shootings at a bar, a stadium, and at a concert hall in the same area.
The U.K. Telegraph reports that at least one of the terrorists shouted “Allahu Akbar,” a Muslim phrase praising Allah:
22:00
‘Gunmen shouted Allahu Akbar’
Louis, inside the Bataclan, told France Info radio the men opened fire and shouted “Allahu 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.
FOX’s Catherine Herridge reports that an American band, the Eagles of Death Metal, was playing at the football stadium and the French president Francois Hollande was present.
Herridge reported:
“To have murdered so many innocent in a such a short period of time, and to also hold them hostage at this hour. This is not a pick-up game what is going on in Paris at this hour. This speaks to premeditation and speaks to coordination.”
Two of the areas hit the hardest are within walking distance of the Charlie Hebdo headquarters, the cartoonists who were the victims of Islamic terrorist attacks in January of this year, after the group published cartoons Muslims deemed offensive to the prophet Muhammed.
The UK Daily Mail reports additional details and slightly different numbers from FOX News:
Paris has been gripped by terror after three coordinated terror attacks in the heart of the city killed at least 40 people.
At least 11 were killed in a restaurant shootout and 15 at the Bataclan concert hall where terrorists are said to be holding 100 people hostage.
Two loud explosions were heard outside the Stade de France sports stadium where the French football team was playing a friendly match against Germany. U.S. security officials believe the attacks were coordinated.
UPDATE at 7:14 PM ET: Authorities have said that around 100 people were killed at the Bataclan concert hall by gunmen who shouted “This is for Syria” and “Allahu Akbar.” The death toll is expected to rise. A state of emergency is in place, the border of France are closed, and people are told to shelter in place as a curfew is instituted.
UPDATE at 7:33 PM ET: French officials state death count at 140.
UPDATE at 7:55 PM ET: A total of four terrorists have been killed.
UPDATE at 8:07 PM ET: Office death toll now 158, according to French officials.
WATCH via the Daily Mail: Here
Matthew Burke is co-founder and CEO for The PolitiStick. A former Washington State U.S. Congressional candidate in 2010, Matthew attended the nation’s first modern day Tea Party in 2009 in Seattle, Washington. He also began writing and blogging that year. Matthew became a Certified Financial Planner in 1995 and was a Financial Advisor for 24 years, including Vice President – Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.
