At least 127 people were killed in a series of terror attacks across Paris late last night. At least 200 others were injured, 80 of them seriously. There were reportedly six coordinated attacks across the city. The first attack occurred at 9:20pm outside the Stade de France stadium, where the France and Germany national teams were playing a soccer match. Police stated that there were two suicide attacks and one bombing outside the stadium. French President Francois Hollande was in attendance, and was immediately evacuated after the blasts. Shortly after the blasts, gunmen attacked Le Carillon bar and Le Petit Cambodge, two restaurants in the 10th arrondissement, killing at least 14. At around the same time, there was a shooting at a bar called La Belle Equipe on Rue de Charon, a shooting on Avenue de la Republique and a suicide bombing at a café called Comptoir Voltaire on Boulevard Voltaire. Minutes later, gunmen opened fire in the Bataclan Theater and took around 100 people hostage. An American band, the Eagles of Death Metal, was playing a concert at the time of the attack. Reports stated that the assailants shouted, “Allah Akbar” (God is great) and “We’re stronger than the French.” At 12:30am, French police stormed the theater and killed at least three attackers. Reports indicated that the assailants were throwing grenades at the hostages as police stormed the building. Police stated that at least 100 people were killed inside the theater. Police later stated that the eight militants believed to be behind the attacks were dead, seven of them killed in suicide bombings. In response to the attacks, Hollande declared a state of emergency in Paris, closed France’s borders and deployed 1,500 French soldiers to bolster security in Paris.Implications
While details on the six attacks in Paris are still emerging, the timing and locations of the attacks suggest that it took extensive planning and coordination. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack in an online message and French President Francois Hollande confirmed the group’s involvement in a speech early this morning, stating that the attacks were “an act of war that was committed by a terrorist army.” Witnesses from the Bataclan theater stated that attackers shouted, “This is for Syria,” suggesting that the attack may be related to the West’s involvement in Syria.
European security forces have been on high alert for another terror attack due to the number of Europeans who have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join terror groups in the past year. It is estimated that 6,000 Europeans, including 1,000 French nationals, have traveled to Syria and Iraq and 1,000 have returned to their home country. The concern is that those traveling to join terror groups will return home equipped, trained and motivated to carry out attacks. The high number of individuals returning has made it difficult for security forces to identify and track each individual. It is still unclear if the assailants in yesterday’s attacks had spent time in the Middle East.
The attacks in Paris show similarities to the attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic militant organization, launch 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks over four days across the city. Yesterday’s attacks were carried out in six separate locations, likely meant to maximize killings, overwhelm security forces and increase the impact of the attacks. The assailants attacked soft targets, with little security, and focused on locations that were likely to be crowded on a Friday night. The attacks occurred just 10 months after the attack on the office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, which put French security forces on high alert. Although 127 people died, and many more were injured, this was far less than the number that could have been killed had the police not responded in such a quick and decisive manner.
U.S. officials have reported that there are no specific or credible threats of an attack on the U.S. at this time, but law enforcement agencies have heightened security in major U.S. cities out of an abundance of caution. There is potential for the attacks in Paris to inspire and motivate ISIL sympathizers elsewhere to launch an attack.
