Terrorist attacks targeted a concert hall, cafes, and the Stade de France stadium and were claimed by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group. The attacks occurred in Paris on Friday, November 13.
France’s Health Minister Marisol Touraine reported the following numbers: 129 died Friday, 195 people are hospitalized, 368 considered seriously injured or dead.
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins says authorities know suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant believed to have planned the gruesome attack last week, or wanted fugitive Salah Abdeslam were not among those detained. Molins did not eliminate the possibility they died, saying the identities of those killed in the raid in the town of Saint-Denis is still undergoing investigation.
Across Europe, a divide is deepening between countries welcoming migrants, and states who see them as a security threat. In Poland, the town of Szamocin has now retracted the invitation to house Syrian refugees. Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said he shares Russian President Vladimir Putin’s urging that a grand coalition of countries is what’s needed to combat IS. Sweden has declared Scandanavia’s terror alert to the second-highest level.
French police have carried out 414 raids and made 60 arrests while seizing 75 weapons since Friday. The captured armory includes 11 military-style firearms, 33 rifles and 31 handguns. In addition to dozens of arrests, 118 more people have been placed under house arrest in another of the new powers permitted under France’s state of emergency.
French President Francois Hollande says France is “at war” against terrorism by the Islamic State group.
So sad to see what is happening in the world today. People never learn!!