http://www.news.com.au/world/europe...plosion-in-paris/story-fnh81p7g-1227608676312
Paris under attack: Shootout and explosion in Paris
November 14, 201511:59am
Dozens feared dead after multiple attacks in Paris
Network Writers and wires
news.com.au
- Unconfirmed reports that Islamic State behind attacks
- Multiple shooting attacks have killed at least 158
- Attackers dropped explosives on concert-goers in Bataclan concert hall
- State of emergency as border closed and Paris enacts curfew
- Five attackers reported killed
THE Islamic State is believed to be responsible for multiple attacks that killed at least 158 people in Paris on Friday night but no official statement of responsibility has been made.
French authorities have announced that five attackers have been killed by police in attacks across the city.
Police launched an assault on the Bataclan concert hall where hostages were being held, killing at least two men reportedly armed with Kalashnikovs.
French police say around 120 people were killed inside the concert hall, which suggests the majority of people inside were killed. However some are believed to have survived the horrific ordeal.
The concert hall was packed with people watching the Eagles of Death Metal perform.
Eagles of Death Metal - a blues-rock band from California - have worked with music A-listers including Jack Black and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame.
The band and crew have reportedly not been located. A
post on their Facebook page reads:
“We are still currently trying to determine the safety and whereabouts of all our band and crew. Our thoughts are with all of the people involved in this tragic situation.”
CNN reported hostages were texting that they were being killed one by one and were begging for a police raid.
A reporter described the scene inside as a “bloodbath”.
Another reporter said police described the scene inside the concert hall as “carnage”, explaining the attackers tossed explosives on hostages.
Five explosions were heard from outside the concert hall and shooting of automatic gunfire as police entered the building.
Earlier witnesses told French media they heard 20 shots and saw two men inside the venue.
Earlier police officials reported a shootout in a Paris restaurant and an explosion in a bar near a Paris, causing dozens to be killed.
Carnage ... Victims are covered with sheets following shooting in Paris. Source: TWITTER @5h55
Source:Supplied
French police confirmed there were two suicide attacks and one bombing near the stadium.
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting there is a shooting at a shopping centre.
French President Francois Hollande says he is closing the country’s borders and declaring a state of emergency.
It is the first time since the Nazis occupied Paris in 1944 that there has been a curfew in the famous city.
Various reports have emerged that the Islamic State has taken responsibility for the attacks. A man arrested earlier in the attacks claimed to be a recruited by the group.
Australian ex-pat Sam Davies, 33, is currently locked in a bar about 300 metres from the attack on the Le Carrillon and Le Petit Cambodg in the 10th arrondissement.
He said most bars in the area had gone into lockdown.
“Everyone is wandering around dazed in a state of shock,” he told News Corp Australia.
Formerly from Melbourne, Mr Davies has lived in Paris for eight years and lives next door to Le Carillon.
He said he was horrified the popular Le Carillon bar and neighbouring Cambodian restaurant were targeted.
“This isn’t a tourist area, this is young, hipsters,” he said.
“It’s the only place in Paris where you can get a good coffee. It’s like Fitzroy in Melbourne.
“It’s really shocking to me, I cannot understand it.”
Hollande, in a televised address to his nation, said the nation would stand firm and united against the attackers.
He said security forces are assaulting one of the sites hit by Friday’s attacks, without elaborating.
“It’s a horror,” he said.
Multiple attacks ... More than 158 people are dead.
Source:News Corp Australia
It was unclear if the events were linked. But US security officials believe the violent incidents are co-ordinated.
Police say 11 people were killed at the restaurant and another 15 at the Bataclan concert hall in eastern Paris, adding that a hostage crisis was ongoing at the venue.
At least three others were killed in explosions near the stadium just north of Paris, where a France-Germany football match was taking place on Friday night.
There are report of two explosions at the stadium and they have been linked to a suicide bomber.
French President Francois Hollande was at the stadium at the time and quickly removed to safety.
BFM television reports there were several dead in the restaurant shooting in the 10th arrondissement of the capital.
“It lasted terribly long,” said awitness, quoted by the French newspaper
Liberation. “He lifted his Kalashnikov, he pulled into the Carillon. We could hear people screaming, you could not hear the shooter”.
An Associated Press reporter in the stadium Friday night heard two explosions loud enough to penetrate the sounds of cheering fans. Sirens were immediately heard, and a helicopter was circling overhead.
Hundreds of people spilt onto the field of the Stade de France stadium after the explosions were heard.
A stadium announcer made an announcement over the loudspeaker after the match, telling fans to avoid certain exits “due to events outside,” without elaborating.
The attack comes as France has heightened security measures ahead of a major global climate conference that starts in two weeks, out of fear of violent protests and potential terrorist attacks.
At first that prompted some panic, but then the crowds just walked dazed, hugging each other and looking at their phones for the latest news of the violence.
Many appeared hesitant to leave amid the uncertainty after France’s deadliest attacks in decades.
Emilioi Macchio, from Ravenna, Italy, was at the Carillon bar near the restaurant that was targeted, having a beer on the sidewalk when the shooting started.
He said he didn’t see any gunmen or victims, but hid behind a corner then ran away.
“It sounded like fireworks,” he said.
All on board ... Police officers and rescue workers at the Petit Cambodge restaurant.
Source:AFP
Former US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff says it is too early to know exactly what was happening in Paris.
Social media posts from purported ISIS supporters could indicate that “there was a group waiting for this, but it could be a group watching,” Chertoff said in an interview with MSNBC Friday night.
“I don’t think we can say this proves anything, but again it supports the idea that it’s terrorism,” Chertoff said.
John Cohen, a former Homeland Security Department counterterrorism coordinator, say the presence of multiple attack scenes at the same time suggested a coordinated effort to “send a message” and raises immediate terror concerns, including for other cities in Europe and potentially the United States as well.
He said both Al Qaida and ISIS have relied on the strategy of coordinated attacks in the past.
Deadly night ... Rescue workers and medics work on victims in a Paris restaurant.
Source:AP
World leaders react - “An attack on all of humanity”