At least 120 people have been killed in the Paris concert hall Bataclan, while another 40 were killed in a series of bombings and shootings in the capital of France.
The French media so far, have reported 120 dead after the police stormed the Bataclan hall, where a group of gunmen held hundreds of hostages.
Security forces stormed the Bataclan Theatre to free the hostages, who were held by alleged jihadists. Three attackers were killed when the police stormed the building.
A representative of the Paris police said scenes at the theatre hall were that of a massacre, adding that the attackers had pounded the hostages with explosives, by throwing them at the hostages.
The police operation followed at least six synchronized attacks across Paris, which killed at least 40 people.
News agencies worldwide reported that police have killed five of the attackers in different locations of the capital.
The Bataclan Concert Hall, where American rock band “Eagles off death metal” were performing that evening is located approximately 200 metres from the former offices of the satirical newspaper “Charlie Hebdo” which had been attacked earlier this year in January by jihadists.
Three other people were reportedly killed near the stadium “Stead de France” in the north part of the city, where France and Germany were playing a friendly football match. French President Francois Hollande who was present at the game was evacuated from the stadium before the end of the match.
In Pictures: Paris rocked by multiple attacks across the city https://t.co/14jZs4a5yq pic.twitter.com/JHoZbjlFDC
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) November 14, 2015
President Hollande later declared a state of emergency in the country, and announced the closure of the borders of France and cancelled his trip to the G20 summit, which is being held this weekend in Turkey. The president also deployed 1,500 additional security personnel throughout Paris. The football organizers also evacuated visitors. Later on the internet, footage appeared of fans leaving the stadium singing the French national anthem.
Dans un tunnel de sortie du Stade de France, sortie dans le calme…. Et la Marseillaise. #fier
Posted by Karl Olive on Friday, 13 November 2015
Another attack occurred in a Cambodian restaurant, near the concert hall Bataclan.
The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo has urged all Parisians to stay at home.
France has been on high alert ever since jihadists in January attacked the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” and a Jewish grocery store, killing 17 people. In the last ten months French police have prevented several terrorist attacks.
There are more than 500 French nationals fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, according to the French Interior Ministry. Also according to the Frence Interior Ministry 250 of those nationals have already returned to the country, and 750 are ready to go and join the war effort in the Middle Eastern countries.
