The French President Francois Hollande has declared a state of national emergency after a mass hostage taking and deadly shooting at a packed Paris concert hall.
A series of suspected terrorist attacks on Friday night has left up to 140 people confirmed dead.
In a televised address Hollande said his government had “mobilised all possible forces” to stop further attacks taking place.
It’s thought a series of co-ordinated attacks took place alongside the hostage taking at the Paris theatre, outside the Stade de France stadium and at least five other popular locations in the city.
A two-hour siege at the Bataclan Theatre in the centre of the French capital ended when police stormed the building and killed three gunmen.
Over 50 people have been confirmed killed at a rock gig at the theatre, with five other terrorist shootings taking place across the city.
Explosions were heard when two suicide bombers carried out attacks near the country’s main sports stadium as the French football team played Germany in an international friendly.
A further 11 people are believed to have been killed when gunmen opened fire in a busy restaurant.
President Hollande called the attacks an unprecedented terrorist attack on France and officially closed the country’s borders.
The Prime Minister David Cameron offered his condolences to the families of the deceased.
He said: “I am shocked by events in Paris tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people. We will do whatever we can to help.”
The British Foreign Office said people with concerns about British friends or relatives in Paris can call the main switchboard number 0207 0081500 for assistance.
Witnesses reported hearing the concert hall gunmen shout: “This is for Syria.”
The Guardian reports via a French journalist eyewitness that “two or three men, without masks, came in with Kalashnikov-type automatic weapons and began shooting blindly at the crowd … it lasted 10, 15 minutes. It was extremely violent and there was a wave of panic.
“Everyone was running in all directions towards the stage.
“It was a stampede and even I was trampled. I saw a lot of people hit by bullets.
“The gunmen had loads of time to reload at least three times. They weren’t masked, they knew what they were doing, they were very young.”
The Press Association are reporting that the head of Paris’ police force says that all attackers are now believed to be dead.
The US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter released a statement this morning referencing the “counter-ISIL [Islamic State] coalition” and said that the United States would stand “with the people of France and its vibrant, multi-cultural democracy”.
He said: “This evening’s horrific and barbaric attacks…are an assault on our common human dignity… [and] will only strengthen our resolve.”
On Thursday night Islamic State executioner Mohammed Emwazi, the 27-year-old murderer of Alan Henning, the man dubbed Jihadi John, was said to have been killed in a US drone strike in the terror group’s stronghold of Raqqa, Syria.
