Paris attacks were carried out by three groups tied to Islamic State, official says

PARIS — French authorities on Saturday said the horrific rampage of bullets and explosions on Friday in Paris that left at least 129 dead was carried out by suicide bombers connected to the Islamic State who broke into three groups with a single objective: to kill as many people as possible.

France — and Europe — was once again confronted with the violence of homegrown terrorism. At least one of the seven dead assailants was a French national — a 29-year-old with a criminal record who had been previously monitored by French intelligence and linked to Islamist extremism. Two others, a senior Belgian official said, appeared to be Belgian foreign fighters, including an 18-year-old who had fought in Syria.

A Syrian passport was found near the body of another assailant. Greek officials said the passport holder had arrived in Europe in October along with a record flood of refugees fleeing the war-torn Middle East. The discovery immediately raised the prospect that militants may be using the same porous routes into Europe as migrants.

President François Hollande called the attacks an “act of war” by the Islamic State, which issued an extraordinarily detailed claim of responsibility almost immediately after his address to the nation. Left behind after the attacks were the latest scars, Pope Francis said Saturday, from the “piecemeal Third World War.” One survivor described gunmen coldly picking off hostages in a packed concert hall as if “we were birds.”
[In Paris, a soccer game, an Asian dinner, a concert — and then terror]
The attacks — far more sophisticated and more deadly in magnitude than a siege here in January carried out by three Islamist militants — robbed France’s showcase city of its rhythm of life and put Europe on alert to a new level of terrorism. In the aftermath of the most deadly assault on French soil since World War II, the Eiffel Tower was shut down “indefinitely.” The Louvre closed its doors. And the country, which cherishes secular freedoms, outlawed public gatherings until at least Thursday.

France declared a state of emergency — granting police broader powers — for the first time since 2005 riots on the outskirts of Paris. Paris landmarks became ghost towns. The government deployed 1,500 troops to safeguard key buildings. Schools, libraries, food markets, swimming pools and gymnasiums were closed.

About 99 of at least 352 who were wounded — most of them injured during a hail of bullets that hit the front rows of a concert at the Bataclan, where 1,500 fans were listening to the Eagles of Death Metal — remained in serious condition, suggesting that the death toll could increase. 

The extent of the violence signaled that the Islamic State is extending its reach far beyond the battlefields of the Middle East, prompting much of the rest of Europe to bolster security on Saturday, ramping up border checks and patrols at key buildings and transit points. But intelligence officials in Germany and Spain said they were focusing mainly on improving security at French schools and embassies, suggesting how France — a nation more involved in fighting Islamist extremism abroad than any of its neighbors — has emerged as the epicenter of the region’s terrorism threat.
[Coordinated assault seems to mark new chapter in terrorism]
“We are facing an act of war organized by an army of terrorist jihadists that had already organized and planned attacks in the past,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Saturday evening. “Five attacks have been thwarted since this summer. But we have always said that there is no such thing as zero risk. We have always said that France could face new terrorist attacks.” 

The victims at six attack sites — the Bataclan concert venue, a soccer stadium, and bawdy bars and restaurants in east Paris — included Nohemi Gonzalez, 23, a California State University design student spending her junior year abroad.- Read More at washingtonpost
As Hollande decries ‘act of war,’ militants claim credit

French President Hollande's remarks after Paris attacks