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16:54pm ET: The Bomb-Laden Soda Can That Islamic State Says Brought Down an Airliner:
Videos by VICE
The Islamic State has published a photo of an improvised explosive device in the form of a Schweppes soda can, claiming it is similar to the one that took down a Russian plane over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula earlier this month.
The photo of the can, alongside what appeared to be a detonator and switch, appeared in the latest issue of Dabiq, the militant group’s English-language propaganda magazine,on Wednesday.
Read VICE News’ Liz Fields’ piece about the IS claim here.
4:25pm ET: Stabbing of Jewish Man Reported in South of France:
A teacher from a Jewish school in Marseille’s 13th Arrondissement was stabbed Wednesday by three individuals, one of whom was wearing an Islamic State t-shirt. “The professor was accosted in the street by three individuals riding two scooters around 7.50pm,” Marseille Prosecutor Brice Robin said. “One of them displayed an Islamic State t-shirt and the other showed a picture of Mohamed Merah on a cell phone.” Merah gunned down seven people in the south of France in 2012, targeting French soldiers and Jewish civilians. According to Robin, the three men threatened and then stabbed the history teacher in the arm and leg, allegedly fleeing when a police patrol arrived on the scene. The man’s condition is not life-threatening.
4:15pm ET: Watch VICE News’s Dispatch from Paris: Raid in Saint-Denis: France at War
2:47pm ET: French Government Cancels Two Climate Marches During UN Conference on Climate Change:
The French government has canceled two climate marches scheduled to take place during the UN’s COP 21 conference on climate change. The marches were due to take part on the eve of the conference and one day after it ended.
“The situation created by the heinous November 13 attacks and the subsequent investigations mean that security measures need to be reinforced,” the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. “In this context, all events organized in enclosed and easily secured spaces will be maintained. However, in order to avoid any additional risk, the government has decided to not authorize the climate marches scheduled in the streets of Paris and in other French cities on November 29 and December 12.”
Officials acknowledged the decision would come as a disappointment to environmentalists but that the ban was dictated by security concerns.
Read VICE News’ coverage of the government’s decision, and reaction from activists, here.
2:07pm ET: Two Suspects in November 13 Paris Attacks Not Among Those Arrested in Police Raid, But Could Be Among Dead:
Addressing reporters at a press conference Wednesday, Paris Chief Prosecutor François Molins said that suspects Abdelhamid Abaaoud and Salah Abdeslam were not among those arrested by police in Saint-Denis in the early hours of Wednesday.
But the prosecutor left open the possibility that one of two people killed in the raid could be one of the suspects, since one body had yet to be identified.
“A body riddled with impacts was found in the debris of the building,” he said. “The state of the body has not permitted, at this stage, to identify it.”
The other dead body was most likely of a woman blew herself up with a suicide vest. The explosion, he said, caused the 3rd floor of the apartment to collapse.
He confirmed that eight people had been arrested during the raid — seven men and one woman — but that they had not been formally identified.
Molins said that five officers were wounded during the hour-long shoot out, during which police fired around 5,000 rounds. Commandos from the BRI (Search and Intervention Brigade) and the RAID (Search Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence) unit stormed the third floor apartment on Rue Corbillon at 4:20am acting on a tip off received November 16, suggesting Abaaoud was in France.
Molins it was likely those arrested and killed during the police raid were planning a new attack.
1:56pm ET: ‘Everyone to the Bar’: Defiant Parisians Return to Grieving Capital’s Restaurants and Cafés
Earlier this week, a group of anonymous French restaurant and bar owners launched the social media hashtag #TousAuBistrot (#EveryoneToTheBar) — a campaign to encourage people to go out and patronize their neighborhood eateries and watering holes on Tuesday.
Read more about it in this VICE News piece.
1:05pm ET: The Islamic State praises “eight knights” who carried out Paris attacks
The Islamic State terrorist group publishes a PDF magazine called Dabiq, whose latest issue on Wednesday celebrates the “eight knights” who “brought Paris down to its knees” as payback for France’s bombing of Syria. The magazine also featured gruesome images, which VICE News is not publishing, of the Norwegian and Chinese hostages whom IS says it has executed.
12:30 ET: The St. Denis building where two terrorists died
A video by Agence France-Presse shows the building in Saint Denis, north of Paris, where a suspected terrorist was killed in a firefight with police on Wednesday morning and another one, a woman, blew herself up. Among the police, casualties were limited to a few lightly wounded.
11:35am ET: “Vive la musique, vive la liberté, vive la France”: Eagles of Death Metal release statement
Five days after their Friday night concert at the Bataclan in Paris became the scene of the worst one-day carnage in France since World War II, the Eagles of Death Metal released a statement on Facebook on Wednesday to say the band is “bonded in grief with the victims, the fans, the families, the citizens of Paris, and all those affected by terrorism.” Yet, the American rock band says, “we are proud to stand together, with our new family, now united by a common goal of love and compassion.”
“All EODM shows are on hold until further notice,” says the statement, ending with these words: “Vive la musique, vive la liberté, vive la France, and vive EODM.”
11:15am ET: What to do in a Paris-style attack? The British government has advice
The UK government just published advice for civilians on what to do in a Paris-style terror attack. “If you can’t RUN, HIDE. (…) Cover from view does not mean you are safe, bullets go through glass, brick, wood and metal. Find cover from gunfire e.g. substantial brickwork / heavy reinforced walls,” the document says among other things. The advice about hiding behind sturdy structures seems particularly poignant in the wake of the revelation that a man was killed by a stray bullet in his home during the attack on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, according to newspaper Ouest-France.
10:45am ET: On the scene in St. Denis with VICE News
VICE News France managing editor Etienne Rouillon was on the scene in Saint-Denis as events unfolded. “When we got on site at 7:45am,” he says, “the tension was evident. Armed police and the army were standing near the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis,” where many kings of France are buried. See Etienne’s photos from the town where two militants were killed and seven people arrested early on Wednesday morning.
10:35am ET: Police say St. Denis militants were preparing attack on business district
According to Reuters, which cites two sources with the French police and one close to the investigation, the militants discovered in Saint-Denis were planning to attack the business district west of Paris, La Défense. Two of the militants died in the assault on Saint-Denis – one who blew herself up, one killed by police who raided the apartment in which they were holed up.
“The police forces were looking for terrorists who were preparing another attack on the basis of information from the (local) counter-terrorism services and overseas,” the source close to the investigation told Reuters. The French interior ministry declined to confirm or deny the information.
It is still unclear whether Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian Islamist militant who is the alleged mastermind of the Paris attacks, is among those killed or arrested in the suburb north of Paris.
10:20am ET: Islamic State claims it killed hostages from Norway and China
The Associated Press is reporting that IS has claimed it killed two hostages, one Norwegian and one Chinese, it captured earlier this year. The claim could not be verified independently.
9:20am ET: French Police Carried Out 118 Searches Throughout the Night
According to French daily Le Figaro, police carried out 118 searches last night, detained 25 people, and seized 34 weapons.
8:55am ET: #JeSuisChien Is Trending on Twitter
A police dog, Diesel, was killed in the overnight police raid in Saint-Denis. The hashtag #JeSuisChien is now trending. (Chien is French for dog.)
A homage between dogs. To Diesel…
Abu Waf-Waf al-Kelbi claims the attack in St Denis and states he will wage war on all infidel dogs. (The name is an Arabic pun on the names typically chosen by jihadists; ‘kelb’ means ‘dog’)
8:10am ET: Copenhagen Airport Evacuated
Copenhagen Airport’s Terminal 3 has been evacuated after suspicious bag was found, a spokeswoman from the airport told Reuters.
Flights departures have been moved to other terminals, she said. The Copenhagen Metro said on its web page that the airport’s metro station cannot be used. Copenhagen Police said in a tweet it has no further comments.
According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, police shouted “Everybody get out!,” which led to slight panic among people at the scene. Police cars started rushing to the terminal and people outside the airport who were there to pick up arrivals are also evacuated.
7:40am ET: French president calls Islamic State a “threat to the entire world.”
French President Francois Hollande has told an assembly of French mayors that the Islamic State is threatening the whole world.”
“What we need to do is annihilate an army, which is a threat to the entire world,” he said. “This is a mission I shall undertake.”
He added: “We need a robust legal framework to confront the circumstances… I have decided that we should reestablish control of our frontiers.”
7:25am ET: Merkel Says Decision to Cancel Soccer Match Was Made By Security Officials
German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the decision to cancel a soccer match between Germany and Netherlands on Tuesday evening due to security concerns, just four days after Islamist attacks in Paris killed at least 129 people.
“I was just as sad as the millions of fans that the match was cancelled. But the security officials took a responsible decision,” Merkel said in a brief statement to reporters on Wednesday.
“These are difficult decisions, perhaps the most difficult given the conflicting priorities of freedom and security. But yesterday it was right to decide based on security.”
6:50am ET: All 129 Victims of Paris Attacks Now Identified
The French government has said at a cabinet meeting this morning that all 129 victims of Friday’s Paris attacks have now been identified.
Another 221 people still remain in hospital, many with serious injuries, the cabinet said in a statement.
6:45am ET: Prosecutor Says It’s Still Unclear Whether Paris Attacks ‘Mastermind’ Was In Apartment
French prosecutor Francois Molins has told reporters that the raid was carried out after police had gathered information from surveillance, witness accounts, and tapped telephone conversations.
Molins also said it was still unclear whether Abdelhamid Abaaoud was inside the apartment during the raid.
6:25am ET: French Interior Minister confirms two deaths and seven arrests.
Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve has confirmed that two people died inside the apartment — a woman who blew herself up and a man who was hit by a grenade.
He also confirmed that seven people were arrested. Of these, three were inside the apartment at the time of the raid. The landlord has also been arrested, alongside three others.
Intelligence that led police to the apartment in St-Denis “gave the impression that Abdelhamid Abaaoud was likely to be there,” Cazeneuve said.
He added that he’d like to pay tribute to “all those involved in the operation, 110 in total, who acted with bravery and under heavy fire in conditions that they had never experienced before.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the cool-headedness of St Denis residents.”
6:00am ET: French police have raided a church in Paris suburb of Saint-Denis
Videos posted on social media show police officers banging on the door of the church, before breaking it and climbing inside.
5:50am ET: Saint-Denis Raid Is Over
Police and a French government spokesperson have confirmed that the raid in Saint-Denis is over.
Speaking at a news conference after a cabinet meeting, French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll gave no further details about the raid.
5:35am ET: Eyewitness Describes Scene at Saint Denis
An eyewitness described to Reuters seeing a woman blow herself up this morning in Saint-Denis.
“At 4:25am (10:25pm ET) this morning we were woken up by a deafening explosion. (Gunshots which sounded) like ‘boom, boom, boom, boom, tatatata boom boom.’ It woke me up, I jumped out of bed, I opened the window, I put my head outside and I was watching.
“The police said: ‘no you need to shut the window, close it, close it.’ I was by the window and I saw the police, fire-fighters [running] up and down and up again. There was smoke everywhere and helicopters. And then we knew it was terrorists being assaulted shooting at the police and the police shooting back.
“It lasted 30 minutes. At 7:25am (1:25am ET) there was an explosion. Among the terrorists there was this woman who blew herself up at 7:30am (1:30am ET). Three-hundred meters away from my home. And though the window you can see the action and the shooting.”
5:20 ET: Seven Arrested, Reports Say
Police say seven people have now been arrested during the raids in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, according to the Associated Press.
5:10am ET: Source said Suspects had Planned an Attack on the Paris Business District
France 2 TV station is reporting that the operation began because authorities received intelligence of an attack being planned in the La Defense business quarter of Paris. DNA samples have been taken from the people who were arrested.
4:50am ET: Videos Emerge From the Raids on Saint-Denis
4:35am ET: Two Dead in Saint-Denis Raids
The Associated Press have now confirmed that two people have been killed in the overnight police operation in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. One woman wearing an explosive suicide vest blew herself up and another man was killed during the raids on an apartment where one suspect is reportedly still holed up. The operation was targeting Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the attacks on Paris that killed 129 people last Friday.
4:20am ET: Five Officers Injured and One Dog Killed in Raids
French police have confirmed that five officers have been lightly injured in the overnight raids in Saint-Denis. Earlier reports also stated that a police dog was killed in the operation.
At the scene, VICE News saw a masked policeman who had been wounded in the foot.
4:00am ET: Woken by Explosions
Local resident Iftene, who is 68 and arrived in Saint-Denis in 1973 from Algeria, told VICE News that he was woken up at 4am by the first explosion in the police raid, quickly followed by several other blasts. He lives a few blocks from the scene of the ongoing siege.
Iftene turned on the TV to see what was happening and then heard automatic gunfire. He spoke at Saint-Denis city hall where he was seeing his cousin and her three children who have been evacuated from their home close to the police operation.
3:40am ET: One Suspect Still in Apartment After Raids
Police sources are stating that one suspect still remains holed up in an apartment in a stand-off with police and military in northern Paris, but his identity is unclear.
Meanwhile, French media are quoting police sources stating that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the attacks that killed 129 people on Friday, is not among the five people arrested in the overnight raids.
3:20am ET: Prosecutor Confirms Five Arrested
3:05am ET: Woman Who Died in Siege Blew Herself Up
French officials have confirmed that one of the deaths in the ongoing police operation was a woman who blew herself up with a suicide belt.
2:55am ET: Rumors Swirl in Saint-Denis
VICE News France editor Etienne Rouillon is on the scene in Saint-Denis. He reports that he’s behind a security perimeter around 100 meters from the scene of the siege with a clear view of the street.
The ambulances that were at the scene have started to move and there’s a large amount of firefighters, emergency staff, military, and policemen still there — but the situation is calmer than it was a couple of hours ago.
The atmosphere is still very tense however. Moments ago there were rumors of someone with a gun and police rushed around the street but it turned out to be a false alarm.
On the main highway into Paris police were checking every car heading into the French capital from Saint-Denis.
2:16am ET: Two Arrests Reported, Siege Still Ongoing
Police have reportedly made two arrests. French media outlets are also quoting police sources as saying two people are dead: One suspect shot by police and a female suicide bomber who blew herself up.
2:08am ET: The Scene in Saint-Denis
Photo by VICE News France editor Etienne Rouillon:
2:00am ET: French Military Deployed to Saint-Denis, Attacks Mastermind Believed to Be in Standoff
The latest from AFP and AP:
1:54am ET: Two Suspects Reportedly Dead, Including Female Suicide Bomber
French media report that the raid is almost over. At least two people are reportedly dead, including a woman who detonated a suicide belt.
“Two terrorists killed: One felled by a sniper #RAID, the other, a woman, detonated explosives. #Saintdenis operation”
1:35am ET: Reports of Explosions in Saint-Denis
Reports are now emerging of several heavy explosions at the site of the police raid north of Paris.
1:13am ET: Police Raid Said to Target Suspected Mastermind of Paris Attacks
AFP and other French media outlets are reporting that the ongoing police raid this morning targeted Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the Paris attacks who was previously believed to be in Syria.
Abaaoud is a 27-year-old from the Molenbeek suburb of Brussels, home to other members of group behind the attacks. Abaaoud was behind a series of planned attacks in Belgium that were foiled by the police last January.
In an interview in February with Dabiq, the Islamic State’s online magazine, Abaaoud boasted of traveling through Europe to organize attacks and obtain weapons. He has been disavowed by his family, who, according to the New York Times, rejoiced when he was reported killed fighting for the Islamic State. He survived, however, and has since been linked to the Paris attacks.
12:43am ET: Reports of Arrests, Officers Injured
Special police forces launched an operation early Wednesday morning in Saint-Denis, a suburb just north of Paris, to catch one of the suspects in the Friday attacks, Reuters reports. Witnesses in the area reportedly said they began hearing gunfire at around 4:30am local time.
There are now unconfirmed reports from French TV station BFMTV that several suspects have been arrested and that at least one police officer was injured in the operation. Other reports say some suspects may still be holed up in an apartment building. We’ll update as soon as we have confirmation.
“Paris bombings: Exclusive RMC police operation in St Denis. 9th terrorist target, police injured several entrenched individuals.”
The French National Police tweeted that there are “ongoing operations” in the area and warned people to stay away:
“Ongoing operations: do not cross the security perimeters, you disrupt police work.”
12:24am ET: Videos Show Heavy Gunfire in Saint-Denis
Videos taken on Rue des Chaumettes in Saint-Denis show armed men in the streets and include the sound of heavy gunfire:
12:16am ET: Ville de Saint Denis confirms police operation. Tells residents to stay indoors.
12:07am ET: Gunfire Reportedly Linked to Hunt for Fugitives
A police source tells Reuters that the gunfire in Seine-Saint-Denis is linked to the hunt for fugitives from Friday’s shooting.
Police have been hunting for Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old Belgian suspected of taking part in the Paris attacks. Abdeslam was stopped three times by French police while being driven back to Brussels the following morning but was allowed to carry on his way because he had not yet been identified as a suspect. Abdeslam’s elder brother Brahim was one of seven attackers who blew themselves up in Paris on Friday night.
French daily Le Parisien reported earlier on Tuesday that investigators are also looking for a second man, suspected of having helped the Abdeslam brothers carry out the gun attacks in the 11th arrondissement on Friday.
11:57pm ET: AFP Reports ‘Ongoing Police Assault’ Related to Friday’s Attacks
French news agency AFP is reporting an “ongoing police assault north of Paris, as part of the investigation on the attacks.”
11:45pm ET: Video Claims to Show Scene of Shootout in Seine-Saint-Denis
Video has surfaced that claims to show the scene of the shootout in Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb about 10 kilometers north of the heart of Paris. Sounds of heavy gunfire can be heard in the footage. The description of the video posted on YouTube says the footage was shot near a school on Rue du Corbillon. French media are reporting police operations in the area.
Here’s the location of Seine-Saint-Denis relative to Paris:
11:27pm ET: Reports of a Police Shootout North of Paris
There are multiple reports of police exchanging gunfire with suspects during an operation in Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris, where it’s currently 5:30am.
4:27pm ET: Deaths and Damages Due to Terrorism Have Never Been Higher
VICE News’ Avi Asher-Shapiro writes about the Global Terrorism Index, released yesterday, which shows that the cost of terrorism in terms of lives and dollars reached “an all-time peak” in 2014.
The country that suffers most from terrorism is Iraq, according to the report.
The data is drawn from the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).
4:13pm ET: UPDATE: No Explosive Devices Found in Hanover, Germany
AFP Reports that no explosives have been discovered by police at the stadium that was supposed to host a match between Germany and the Netherlands tonight.
Instead, Reuters reports that Hanover Police President Volker Kluwe said there were “specific indications” of a planned attack with explosives at the game. “We had received specific indications that an attack with explosives was planned,” Kluwe told NDR state broadcaster.
Police vans with loudspeakers ordered fans to leave the stadium as heavily armed officers positioned themselves outside the arena.
Apart from stadium, police also evacuated Hanover’s TUI multi-purpose arena where a concert was about to start.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere was to hold a news conference later on Tuesday to provide more information.
(Additional reporting from Reuters)
3:25pm ET: Merkel was expected at soccer match targeted in disrupted bombing
According to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, German chancellor Angela Merkel was one of several high-ranking guests expected to be in attendance at the Germany vs. Netherlands friendly soccer match in Hanover on Tuesday, which was cancelled after authorities discovered and foiled a bombing plot. Merkel was not at the stadium, and neither was the national team.
3:05pm ET: Video shows Turkish soccer fans disrupting moment of silence for Paris victims at Greece-Turkey match
A small but vocal group of fans interrupted a moment of silence for the victims of the November 13 Paris attacks with chants at a friendly match between Turkey and Greece, as the players and most of the stadium stood in silence. It’s not clear if the people whistling are doing so out of disapproval of or support for the chanters. Some Tweets say the crowd is chanting “Allah Akbar,” but they clearly are not, at least not in the tape below. Other Tweets said the chants were for Turkish soldiers who had been killed. It’s not the first time vocal fans have interrupted a moment of silence at a soccer match in Turkey: a moment of silence for those killed in a bombing in Ankara in October was disrupted by similar chants during a match between Turkey and Iceland.
3:02pm ET: Hanover, Germany chief of police confirms there was a device intended to be detonated inside stadium
2:30pm ET: German police may have defused truck bomb attack
Breaking, as yet unconfirmed reports from Hanover say a truck bomb disguised as a rescue vehicle was discovered near the soccer stadium that authorities evacuated Tuesday evening. German newspaper Bild quotes Hanover police chief Volker Kluwe as saying that “there was a serious plan to blow something up.”
2:20pm ET: Police hunt for second suspect
French daily Le Parisien has reported that investigators are looking for a second man, suspected of having helped the Abdeslam brothers carry out the gun attacks in Paris’ 11th arrondissement Friday.
“Paris attacks: A second terrorist on the run sought by police”
1:45pm ET: False alarm at Eiffel Tower
Tuesday afternoon, French police and soldiers told people to back away from the Eiffel Tower because of a bomb scare that turned out to be a false alarm. A VICE News crew was among those near the tower. Daniel Bateman snapped these shots.
1:30pm ET: The soccer stadium in Hanover, Germany, is being evacuated, and the Germany-Netherlands friendly match canceled, police said.
Police found a suspicious object near the HDI-Arena stadium, triggering the evacuation just two hours ahead of the match. It’s the second time in 24 hours that a major international soccer match is canceled in Europe; a Belgium-Spain friendly in Brussels on Monday was scrubbed, due to fears of a repeat attack like the one that hit the biggest stadium in Paris last Friday.
1:24pm ET: Germany has released the seven people that police in Aachen arrested earlier today.
“We can establish that we have no element linking these people to the attacks,” a police spokesperson said, according to Le Monde.
1:16pm ET: Mexico Beefs Up Border Controls
Mexico has heightened security levels at airports, embassies, and at its borders in response to the terror attacks in Paris, the national security commissioner told reporters on Tuesday.
The official, Renato Sales Heredia, said there was no specific threat to Mexico, but that the country was in contact with the government of France and “international agencies” since the attacks.
“We are watching the borders and specific migration alerts, precisely to avoid any kind of incident,” Sales told reporters.
1:05pm ET: German interior minister says seven arrests in Germany not “closely connected” to Paris terror attacks
Police in Aachen, Germany, have arrested seven people in an operation linked to the the Paris attacks.
“Following the Paris attacks on Friday, and the search for those who carried out and instigated [the attacks], the police in Aachen received tip-offs concerning suspects in Alsdorf,” the police said.
According to local daily Aachener Zeitung, police arrested two women and one man were around 9.30am in a car stationed in the parking lot of an Alsdorf job center.
Special forces arrested another two suspects, still in Alsdorf. The media subsequently reported two further arrests. None of the suspects have yet been identified.
During a press conference on Tuesday night, German interior minister Thomas de Maizière said that the arrests were not “closely connected” to the Paris attacks. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t who we had hoped it would be,” the minister told reporters.
According to German weekly Der Spiegel, police were following up on a possible sighting of suspect Abdeslam Salah by a shopkeeper.
12:11pm ET: Man Who Rescued Pregnant Woman During Bataclan Attack Recounts Ordeal
Read about the man who saved a pregnant woman who was left dangling from a window ledge after attackers stormed the Bataclan concert hall in Paris on Friday.
11:14am ET: Charlie Hebdo magazine releases new cover
The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, itself a target of Islamist gunmen in January, has released its new cover:
It reads: “They’ve got the guns… Fuck’em, we’ve got the Champagne!”
11:08am ET: US lawmakers want to pause refugee program in light of Paris attacks
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are calling for a pause in the Syria refugee program and working on a plan for how the United States handles the immigrants fleeing Syrian violence in light of the recent attacks in Paris, Speaker Paul Ryan said on Tuesday.
“This is a moment where it is better to be safe than sorry. So we think the prudent, the responsible thing is to take a pause in this particular aspect of this refugee program in order to verify that terrorists are not trying to infiltrate the refugee population,” he said at a news conference.
He also said that last Friday’s attacks in Paris were “an act of war.”
(Reuters)
10:37am ET: Voice of French jihadist Fabien Clain “very likely” identified in video claiming responsibility for attacks
According to French daily Le Monde, the voice heard in the Islamic State video claiming responsibility for Friday’s attacks in Paris may belong to Frenchman Fabien Clain, a jihadist who is known to French intelligence services. Clain, who hails from the southern French city of Toulouse, is described as being a close acquaintance of Mohamed Merah — the man who targeted French soldiers and Jewish civilians in the southwest of France in March 2012, killing seven.
Clain was sentenced to five years in prison in 2009 for establishing a terrorist cell between France and Iraq. According to German weekly Der Spiegel, Clain traveled to Syria when he was released from prison in 2014.
Voice of Fabien Clain identified in a video claiming responsibility for Friday’s attacks.
10:30am ET: Here’s the latest news today:
– French President Francois Hollande will travel to the US and Russia in the next week to discuss cooperation in the fight against he Islamic State.
– Germany police have arrested five people in connection with the Paris attacks.
– Secretary of State John Kerry met with the French President in Paris to discuss cooperation in the fight again the Islamic State.
– Seven of the attackers in Friday’s attacks have been identified, while police are still searching for the eight: 26-year-old Belgian Salah Abdeslam.
– France has requested military aid and assistance from its fellow EU members.
– France conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State-held Syrian town of Raqqa for the second night in a row.
