I am posting this after the fact - so this wiki is the best place to start with a thread to catch up on how this terror attack unfolded on November 13, 2015.
November 2015 Paris attacks
Quote:
Locations of the attacks
Location
Paris, France
Saint-Denis, France
1: near Stade de France
2: Rue Bichat and rue Alibert (Le Petit Cambodge, Le Carillon)
3: Rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi (Casa Nostra)
4: The Bataclan theatre
5: Rue de Charonne (La Belle Équipe)
Stars: Individual suicide bombings (Bataclan not included)
Date 13 November 2015 –14 November 2015 21:16 – 00:58 (CET)
Attack type
Mass shooting, bombing, hostage-taking, suicide attack
Weapons
AK-47 assault rifles[1]
Hand grenades
Suicide vests utilising TATP and improvised shrapnel (e.g. bolts)
Deaths
139, of which
* 129 immediate victims:
* Bataclan: 89
* Le Carillon and Le Petit Cambodge: 11
* La Casa Nostra: 5
* Stade de France: 6
* La Belle Équipe: 18
* 3 further individuals have reportedly died in hospital since the event, a;though Paris Hospitals have not confirmed this.
* 7 perpetrators[4]
Non-fatal injuries
* 352, including 96 seriously; 3 have died in hospital after the event.
Perpetrators Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Assailants
8 suicide bombers, some with AK-47s:[8][9]
* 3 from Molenbeek, Belgium
* Omar Ismaël Mostefai
Suspected perpetrators
Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old born in Brussels
Motive
* Islamic extremism
* Ideological objection to Paris as a capital of "abomination and perversion"
* Retaliation for French airstrikes in Syria and Iraq
* Foreign policy of François Hollande in relation to Muslims worldwide.
On the evening of 13 November 2015, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks—consisting of mass shootings, suicide bombings, and hostage-taking—occurred in Paris, France, and Saint-Denis, one of its northern suburbs. Beginning at 21:16 CET, six mass shootings and three separate suicide bombings near the Stade de France occurred. The deadliest attack was at the Bataclan theatre, where attackers took hostages and engaged in a stand-off with police which ended at 00:58 on 14 November.
At least 132 victims died, 89 of them at the Bataclan theatre. A further 352 people were injured by the attacks, including 96 people described as being seriously injured. In addition to the civilian casualties, seven attackers were killed and authorities continued to search for any accomplices that remained at large. Prior to the attack, France had been on high alert since the Guests cannot see links in the messages. Please register to forum by clicking here to see links. in Paris that killed 17 people, including civilians and police officers. French President François Hollande announced a state of emergency, the first since the 2005 riots, and placed temporary controls on the country's borders.
On 14 November, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks. Their motive was retaliation for French involvement in the Syrian Civil War and Iraqi Civil War. President Hollande said the attacks were organised from abroad by ISIS, "with internal help", and described them as "an act of war". The attacks were the deadliest in France since the Second World War, and the deadliest in the European Union since the Madrid train bombings in 2004.
Background
France's military has been involved in airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since 19 September 2014, known by the codename of Guests cannot see links in the messages. Please register to forum by clicking here to see links.. In October 2015, France struck targets in Syria for the first time. ISIL specially mentioned the airstrike campaign when they claimed responsibility for the attacks.
France had been on high alert for terrorist threats since the Charlie Hebdo shooting and a series of related attacks in early January 2015. France had also increased security in anticipation of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, scheduled to be held in Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015, and had restored border checks the week before the attacks. The Charlie Hebdo shooting in January 2015 occurred in the 11th arrondissement (district) of the city, where the Bataclan theatre is situated. France witnessed several other smaller attacks throughout 2015, including the stabbing of three soldiers in Nice who were guarding a Jewish community centre in February; an attempt to blow up a factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier in June, resulting in the murder of an employee; and a shooting and stabbing spree on a train in August.
Two Jewish brothers, Pascal and Joel Laloux, owned the Bataclan theatre for more than forty years until they sold it in September 2015. They had said that the venue had been threatened several times because of their public support of Israel. In 2011, a group called "Army of Islam" threatened the theatre because of this.
ISIL and their branches claimed responsibility for numerous deadly attacks within the weeks leading up to the attacks. On 12 November 2015, twin suicide bombings took place in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 43 people. On 31 October 2015, Metrojet Flight 9268, carrying mostly Russian passengers crashed in the Sinai in Egypt, killing 224 people. ISIL's Sinai branch claimed responsibility. Also, on the day of the attacks, ISIL's lead executioner Jihadi John was reportedly killed by a US drone strike and ISIL lost control of Sinjar to Kurdish forces.
Attacks
Quote:Timeline of attacks
13 November:
21:16 – First suicide bombing near the Stade de France.
21:20 – Second suicide bombing at the Stade de France.
21:25 – Shooting at the rue Bichat.
21:32 – Shooting at the rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi.
21:36 – Shooting at the rue de Charonne.
21:40 – Suicide bombing on boulevard Voltaire.
21:40 – Four men enter the Bataclan theatre and begin shooting.
21:53 – Third suicide bombing at the Stade de France.
22:00 – Hostages are taken at the Bataclan.
14 November:
00:20 – Security forces enter the Bataclan.
00:58 – French police end the siege on the Bataclan.
All times are CET (UTC+1).
Three teams committed seven distinct attacks, comprising four suicide bombings and six shootings. Three explosions occurred near the Stade de France and another on boulevard Voltaire; two of the Bataclan shooters also detonated their suicide vests as police ended the stand-off. Shootings were reported in the vicinity of the rue Alibert, the rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi, the rue de Charonne, the Bataclan theatre and avenue de la République.
Stade de France explosions
Three explosions occurred near the country's national sports stadium, the Stade de France, in the suburb of Saint-Denis, resulting in four deaths, including the three terrorists who detonated their vests. The explosions happened at 21:20, 21:30, and 21:53. The first explosion near the stadium was at approximately 21:20, less than 20 minutes after the start of an international friendly football match between France and Germany, which President François Hollande was attending. The first terrorist detonated his suicide vest while trying to enter the stadium, killing the terrorist and one bystander. Hollande was safely evacuated from the scene at half-time, while the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier stayed, and Hollande met with his interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, to co-ordinate a response to the emergency. The third explosion was at a McDonald's near the stadium. Two of the explosions were heard on the live televised broadcast of the match; both coaches were informed by French officials of a developing crisis, but players and the audience were kept unaware of the danger until the game had finished, as the coaches kept the information to themselves.
Following the game, fans were brought onto the pitch to await evacuation as police monitored all the exits around the venue. Security sources confirmed that all three explosions were suicide bombings. The Wall Street Journal reported that at least one of the assailants had a ticket for the football match, but was hindered from entering the stadium at the security check, at which point he detonated his vest. The attacks were seven months before France hosts the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament.
Street shootings
Rue Bichat and rue Alibert
At approximately 21:20, the first shootings occurred on the rue Bichat and the rue Alibert, near the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement. Attackers shot at people outside Le Carillon, a café and bar. They then crossed the rue Bichat and attacked the restaurant Le Petit Cambodge. According to French police, eleven people were killed at the restaurant, and an eyewitness said that one of the gunmen shouted "Allahu Akbar". The assailants reportedly fled in one or two vehicles after the shootings. One of the vehicles was known to have had a Belgian number plate. Doctors and nurses from nearby Hôpital Saint-Louis were in Le Carillon when the attacks occurred and supplied emergency assistance to the wounded after the attack.
Rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi
At 21:32, a man with a machine gun fired in front of the pub À la bonne bière, close to the Italian restaurant La Casa Nostra, on the rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi south of the rue Bichat. The Paris prosecutor reported that five people were killed and eight were injured. An eyewitness reported a gunman firing short bursts.
Rue de Charonne
At approximately 21:50, two attackers fired for several minutes at the outdoor terrace of the restaurant La Belle Équipe on the rue de Charonne in the 11th arrondissement before returning to their car and driving away. Police confirmed 18 people were killed.
Boulevard Voltaire
At about 21:40, another attacker detonated his suicide vest on the boulevard Voltaire, also in the 11th arrondissement, near place de la Nation. He sat down in the cafe Comptoir Voltaire and placed an order before detonating his suicide vest and killing himself. About 15 people were injured, one of them seriously.
Bataclan theatre massacre
The Bataclan theatre in 2009
At approximately 21:45, a mass shooting and hostage taking occurred at the Bataclan theatre on the boulevard Voltaire in the 11th arrondissement. The Bataclan had been owned by a Jewish family for decades and was sold to new owners in September 2015. The venue has been threatened repeatedly for sponsoring pro-Israel events In 2011 a group named "Army of Islam" threatened the Bataclan, apparently because its owners at the time were Jewish.
The US rock band Eagles of Death Metal was playing to an audience of around 1,500 people. The band had played around five songs when the explosions occurred, causing confusion among the audience that these explosions might have been part of the show. About an hour into the concert, three black-clad men with AK-47 assault rifles entered the hall. Witnesses heard shouts of "Allahu akbar" just before the gunmen calmly and methodically opened fire into the crowd. A witness said that he saw armed men enter the Bataclan and fire indiscriminately on the crowd. The attack lasted about 20 minutes, with witnesses reporting that the attackers also threw grenades into the crowd. A radio reporter, Julien Pearce, who attended the concert, described the attackers as calm and determined, telling CNN they had reloaded three or four times.
At about 22:00, the men started rounding up hostages, as police massed outside the concert hall. Between 60 and 100 hostages were taken. The band's members and also the musicians of the opening act, Austrian rock group White Miles, escaped without injury. A witness who escaped the attack told a journalist that the gunmen mentioned Syria. One witness in the Bataclan stated that a gunman yelled, "This is because of all the harm done by Hollande to Muslims all over the world". There were further attacks reported on police and first responders who arrived at the scene after initial reports of shooting inside the theatre.
From about 00:15 to 00:58, the police assaulted the theatre after reports that the attackers had started killing the hostages. Initial police reports estimated that 100 people were killed at the theatre, but the toll was later revised to 87. Two attackers died by detonating their suicide vests. Another one was hit by police gunfire, and his vest blew up when he fell. The entire area was closed off after the attacks. The identification and removal of bodies from the theatre took ten hours, a process made more difficult because some concert attendees had left their identification papers with the Bataclan's cloakroom.
Perpetrators
President François Hollande stated on 14 November that the attacks were organised from abroad by ISIL with internal help. Syrian and Egyptian passports were reportedly found near the bodies of two of the perpetrators at two attack sites, although it was later announced by Egyptian authorities that the passport belonged to a victim, Aleed Abdel-Razzak, and not one of the perpetrators.
Paris Public Prosecutor François Molins confirmed that seven known attackers were killed, though authorities continued to search for the restaurant shooters.
*Three attacked the Bataclan Theatre wearing black clothing and using AK-47 assault rifles. Two killed themselves with their suicide vests during the police raid on the theatre. The third was killed by police gunfire just before his vest detonated. French Police stated that suspects in the attacks included:
* Bilal Hadfi, a Belgian-born individual who previously fought in Syria with ISIL.[85]
* Ahmed Almuhamed, a 25-year-old who entered France posing as a Syrian refugee.[85]
* Omar Ismaël Mostefai, a 29-year-old born 21 November 1985[86] from the Paris suburb Courcouronnes,[86] Essonne, France, identified as a bomber by a severed finger found inside the theatre.
* Three suicide bombers detonated their vests near the Stade de France. A Syrian passport was found on one of the suicide bombers, according to the French Police. The authenticity of the passport was questioned and many analysts pointed out that false Syrian passports can be easily obtained. Minister of Citizen Protection in Greece Nikos Toskas announced that one of the Syrian passport-holders had passed through Leros in October. A US intelligence official said the passport could be a fake.
* The seventh attacker detonated his vest on the boulevard Voltaire near the Bataclan theatre. Ibrahim Abdeslam, a member of the Molenbeek Terror Cell from Belgium, was identified as this bomber.
According to the Paris prosecutor, the attackers wearing suicide vests used Guests cannot see links in the messages. Please register to forum by clicking here to see links. as an explosive.
One of the attackers had previously been identified as a fighter coming back from Syria to commit terrorist acts. Another was a French extremist born on 21 November 1985, from the suburb of Courcouronnes, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Paris. He had had a criminal record since 2004 and was flagged as an Islamic extremist in 2010, but had never spent time in jail. French news media identified this attacker as Ismaël Omar Mostefaï, described as a "young father with Algerian roots".
A second gunman was found with a passport of a Syrian man who had been born in 1980. The man on the passport was not previously known to French police. At least one man with a possible connection to the attacks had entered the EU via Greece as a Syrian refugee in October, but the Greek police are not ruling out that the passport changed hands before the attacks. Serbia's interior ministry stated that his details match those of a suspected terrorist, identified by Serbian authorities only by his initials as Ahmed Almuhamed.
Another man has been identified as Abbdulakbak B. On 15 November 2015, François Molins, the Paris prosecutor, identified two more of the terrorists, stating that one of the men was among the suicide bombers outside the Stade de France and that he was born in France on 22 January 1995, with the second attacker, the suicide bomber who killed himself but no one else in the Comptoir Voltaire restaurant, being born in France, on 30 July 1984.
On 14 November, a car used in the attacks was stopped at the Belgian border and its three occupants arrested. Three more people were arrested in Belgium. Three terrorist teams executed the attacks, according to the Paris prosecutor. They were wearing explosives vests with identical detonators. One terrorist had eight past arrests, but had not been linked to terrorism. Links to the ISIL attack in France are being investigated in an arrest made a week earlier in Germany, on 5 November, when police stopped a 51-year-old man from Montenegro, and found automatic handguns, hand grenades and explosives in his car. A further car abandoned near the Bataclan theatre was identified as having a parking ticket issued in Molenbeek, a district of Brussels, in Belgium.
As of 15 November, French authorities were seeking Salah Abdeslam, 26, describing him as dangerous, and warning the public to absolutely not intervene on one's own, under any circumstances. According to Belgian officials, his brother Ibrahim had died in the three-hour massacre on 13 November, and another brother, Mohamed, was detained on 14 November in the Molenbeek area of Brussels.
Analysis of tactics and responsibility
Michael Leiter, former director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center, said that the attacks demonstrated great sophistication not seen in a city attack since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and that it would change how the West regards the threat. Further comparisons were made between the Paris attacks and the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
ISIL claimed responsibility for the attacks on the morning of 14 November in a statement which included no details not available in news reportage. The attackers are believed to have communicated with ISIS using encryption technology, European officials briefed on the investigation but not authorised to speak publicly told The New York Times.
Casualties
Quote:List of casualties from the attacks
Nationality Killed Injured
France 104 TBA
Belgium 3
Chile 3
Portugal 3
Algeria 2
Mexico 2* 1*
Romania 2 1
Tunisia 2
United States 2 *
Morocco 1 1
Germany 1
Italy 1 2
Spain 1
Sweden 1 1
United Kingdom 1
Serbia 0 7
Netherlands 0 3
Brazil 0 2
Australia 0 1
Austria 0 1
China 0 1
Ireland 0 1
Unspecified 332
Total 132 352
* Victims had dual citizenship
The attacks killed at least 132 people and injured 352, with at least 96 reportedly hospitalised in serious condition. The French music publication Les Inrockuptibles reported that their music critic, Guillaume B. Decherf, was killed at the Bataclan.
Sweden's Foreign Ministry reported that at least one Swedish national was killed and another injured. According to Didier Reynders, the Belgian foreign affairs Minister, two Belgians from Liège and one Franco-Belgian were killed.
The Spanish Deputy Prime Minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, reported on 14 November that French authorities confirmed the identification of a Spanish national among the victims of the assault on the Bataclan theatre. Subsequent reports on additional Spanish victims have been denied late on 15 November, as two young men reported as deceased have contacted their families to clarify they are alive and safe. The fourth victim is a girl with dual Mexican and Spanish nationality, and she is included in the counts as Mexican. The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has confirmed one Spanish victim. Portuguese authorities confirmed that at least one Portuguese citizen was killed.
The Romanian Ministry of External Affairs confirmed two Romanian nationals were killed. Two United States citizens, Eagles of Death Metal merchandise manager, Nick Alexander and a California college student have also been confirmed as killed. The Foreign Office has confirmed that one British citizen was also killed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile confirmed the death of three Chilean nationals in the attacks. Algeria confirmed that two of their nationals were among the victims. Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop informed the media that one Australian was confirmed as injured.[138] A Mexican official announced that two nationals were killed and one was injured. The Irish Embassy in Paris confirmed that at least one Irish citizen was seriously injured in the attacks.
Aftermath
Local response
The hashtag #portesouvertes ("open doors") was used by members of the public to offer shelter in Paris to those afraid to travel.
As had been the case the previous January, the Place de la République once again became a focal point of mourning, memorial and tribute. An impromptu memorial also developed near the Bataclan theatre. A memorial service was held on 15 November at Notre Dame Cathedral, presided over by the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, with several political and religious figures in attendance.
Muslim organisations in France, Union of Islamic Organisations of France and Les Fédérations Musulmanes strongly condemned the attacks in Paris, denouncing them as "barbaric". The attacks adversely affected local business at higher profile venues and shopping centres in Paris and created concern among many Parisians that the attacks would marginalize the Muslim population from others.
Official response
French governmental response
President François Hollande was at the Stade de France during the attacks.
President François Hollande issued a statement asking the French people to remain strong in the face of such incidents. Hollande also visited the Bataclan theatre and vowed to "mercilessly" fight against terrorism. Hollande also chaired an emergency meeting of the French Cabinet that night, and directed his national security council to meet the next morning. The authorities urged the residents of Paris to stay indoors for their own safety. Hollande also cancelled his trip to the 2015 G-20 Antalya summit because of the attacks, instead sending Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Finance Minister Michel Sapin as his representatives. On 14 November, President Hollande announced three national days of mourning.
Intelligence review
Shortly after the attacks, intelligence staff in multiple countries began to review electronic surveillance recorded before the attacks. The ranking Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff said that he was not aware of any intercepted communications that would have provided warning.
One source said that the French National Police met with German police and intelligence services a month prior to the attack to discuss suspicions that terrorists were conducting surveillance of possible French targets. The exact targets were not known at that time.
Suspicions emerged that at least some of the weapons used by the attackers may have been stolen from a French military armoury in July.
Police in Germany had stopped a car on 5 November and confiscated weapons that might have been connected to the Paris attacks.
Security changes
In response to the attacks, France was put under a state of emergency for the first time since 2005, borders were temporarily closed, and 1,500 soldiers were called in to help the police maintain order in Paris. The plan blanc (Île de France) and plan rouge (global), two contingency plans for times of emergency, were immediately activated. According to some English-language sources, Paris declared its first curfew in 70 years. In addition, Belgium tightened security along its border with France and increased security checks for people arriving from France.
Flights to and from Charles de Gaulle Airport and Orly Airport were mostly unaffected. American Airlines delayed flights to Paris until further notice. Many Paris Métro stations in the 10th and 11th arrondissements were shut down because of the attacks. Uber also suspended car hails in Paris after the attacks.
All public schools and universities in Paris were set to remain closed the next day. Sports events in France for the weekend of 14–15 November were postponed/cancelled. Disneyland Paris closed its parks for the first time, in solidarity with those who died in the attacks; it had operated every day since opening in 1992. The Eiffel Tower, a Paris landmark visited by 20,000 people a day, was closed indefinitely. According to The New York Times, as of 14 November 2015, "The capital is under a heavy police presence, and checks at France’s borders have been reinstated. Air travel continues but with significant security-related delays. Public protests—a constitutional right in France—are prohibited in Paris and some of the surrounding departments until Thursday. Several bands due to play in Paris cancelled shows, including U2, Foo Fighters, Motorhead and Coldplay. Schools with classes or activities, cultural places and other venues (the Eiffel Tower, movie theaters, Disneyland Paris, department stores) are closed."
Cities in the United States took security precautions, particularly at sites where large crowds were expected, as well as sports events, concerts, the French embassy, and other French government sites. New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said that the Paris attacks changed the way law enforcement dealt with security. Singapore also raised its national security alert level, stepping up security precautions as well as border checks across the city-state. Police and military authorities in Manila were placed in full alert in preparation for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.
French domestic politics
Both Hollande's governing Socialist Party and Marine Le Pen's National Front suspended their election campaigns for the upcoming French regional elections. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of The Republicans, the main centre-right opposition party, supported the national state of emergency and increased border security measures.
International reactions
Many heads of state, heads of government, the Holy See and the United Nations offered messages of condolence and solidarity in the wake of the attacks.
The attacks prompted a re-evaluation of European officials', particularly German officials', stance on the EU's policy toward migrants, especially in light of the ongoing European migrant crisis. Many German officials believed that a higher level of scrutiny was needed, and criticised the position of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But the German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel defended her stance, and pointed out that many migrants themselves were escaping terrorism.
Poland's European affairs minister designate Konrad Szymański declared that in the wake of the attacks he sees no possibility of enacting the recent EU refugee relocation scheme. Andrej Babiš, Czech deputy prime minister, proposed closing the Schengen border.
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