The Paris prosecutor raised the death toll to
129. Another 352 were injured, 99 seriously. An American woman is among the
dead.
Police searched
three homes in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean , located
outside Brussels , on Saturday after a car rented
in Belgium was located at
one of the attack sites in Paris .
Sources told CNN one of the raids was connected to the Paris
attacks and the others to people known to Belgium intelligence.
In total, five
people were detained, local media reported. Justice ministry spokeswoman
Sieghild Lacoere said the vehicle "triggered the raids." Belgian
Justice Minister Koen Geens said "multiple searches and arrests" had
been made related to a vehicle with a Belgian license plate.
The Islamic State
militant group claimed responsibility for the attacks in the French capital,
saying IS "soldiers" targeted the "capital of prostitution and
obscenity" and warned it was "the first of the storm."
The remarks came in
a statement published in Arabic, English and French on social media, according
to the Jihadist watchdog organization SITE Intelligence Group. The statement
was released on the same Telegram channel used to claim responsibility for the
Russian jet crash over the Sinai peninsula two
weeks ago, that left 224 people dead.
According to a
translation by SITE Intel, the IS said "eight brothers wrapped in
explosive belts and armed with machine rifles, targeted sites that were
accurately chosen in the heart of the capital of France, including the Stade de
France during the match between the Crusader German and French teams, where the
fool of France, Francois Hollande, was present."
Early Saturday,
Hollande said the near-simultaneous attacks that left at least 127 dead was an
"act of war" organized abroad by the IS and vowed to wage a
"merciless" fight against the militant organization.
Hollande put France 's security at its highest level with the
military continuing to patrol France 's
streets to give residents a sense of security. Parisians were encouraged to
stay home. Hollande declared a three-day period of national mourning.
Authorities
believed the eight people who carried out the attacks were dead, but are wary
of accomplices still on the run. All city facilities, buildings and subways
will remain closed through Saturday. The borders will also remain closed.
Hollande said the
attacks that left dozens injured were "committed by a terrorist army, the
Islamic State group, a jihadist army, against France , against the values that we
defend everywhere in the world, against what we are: A free country that means
something to the whole planet."
"France will be
pitiless concerning the barbarity of Daesh," he said, using an Arabic
acronym for the militants, also known as IS, ISIS or ISIL. He did not detail
what intelligence was gathered that connected the IS to the attacks.
Saturday morning,
the White House said President Obama will convene the National Security Council
to review the latest intelligence surrounding the attacks before departing for
the G20 Summit in Turkey .
About 300 people
injured in the blasts remain in Paris-area hospitals, with at least 80 in critical
condition. The U.S. State Department confirmed Americans are among the injured.
"The United
States Embassy in Paris
is working round the clock to assist American citizens affected by this
tragedy," Mark Toner, the deputy spokesman for the State Department, said
in a statement. "The U.S.
government is working closely with French authorities to identify American
victims. We are aware there are Americans among the injured, and are offering
them the full range of consular assistance."
At the same time,
French police continued their search for possible accomplices to the eight
people who carried out the attacks. Seven of the attackers died in suicide
bombings and one died in a shootout with police at the Bataclan concert hall,
where gunmen shot and killed concert-goers one by one. Extremists triggered
explosives and fired shots during a performance by the California rock band Eagles of Death Metal.
At least 118 died.
Several news
organizations are reporting authorities found a Syrian passport at one of the
locations, Stade de France. A second bomber has been identified as a French
national who was already under intelligence surveillance.
Scores of others
died in apparent coordinated attacks:
Stade de France -- At the national
soccer stadium where France
and Germany
were playing an exhibition match, attackers bombed two stadium entrances and a
nearby McDonald's restaurant. At least three died. Hollande, who was watching
the game, was evacuated from the stadium after the blasts.
La Belle Equipe -- As many as 18 people
died at this sidewalk cafe on Rue de Charonne.
Le Carillon and Le Petit Cambodge -- About
14 people died at Le Carillon, a bar, and the nearby Cambodian restaurant Le
Petit Cambodge. Many others were gravely wounded.
La Casa Nostra -- Located a few hundred
yards from the Bataclan, the terrace of this pizzeria was targeted. At least
five people were targeted by attackers with automatic rifles.
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