Update: ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks. French President Hollande agrees it was the terror group. French police confirmed a total of six attacks in Paris, including two suicide attacks and one bombing near the Stade de France, as well as attacks at the Bataclan concert hall and a restaraunt. French news outlets reported that police launched an assault on the Bataclan concert hall, where gunmen were holding 100 hostages. According to The Guardian, eight attackers are dead, several of whom died after detonating suicide belts. Authorities have reported that the number of fatalities has reached at least 120. A motive has yet to be determined.
Earlier: On Friday, Nov. 13, Paris, France suffered several attacks: A shooting at a restaurant, an explosion in a bar near a stadium, and a shooting at a nightclub. Between the three events, the AP reports at least 26 people were killed and many more were injured. In the wake of the incidents, many are asking if ISIS is behind the Paris attacks. The deadly events took place just two weeks after ISIS claimed responsibility for a plane crash in Russia. However, their version of that story has been denied by Russian and Egyptian officials alike. In Paris, officials have said they believe all three events are connected, but we're not likely to know immediately if ISIS was involved at all. But, according to The Telegraph, Parisians are worried a terrorist threat is behind the actions. This certainly wouldn't be the first time the country has dealt with something like that in recent months.
In January 2015, 12 were killed by two gunmen at the Charlie Hebdo headquarters, "presumably for their perceived insults to Islam and/or ISIS’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," the Foreign Policy Research Institute speculated at the time.
Then a few months later in July 2015, a video was released showing a French ISIS fighter shooting a Syrian soldier. In the video, the ISIS member can be heard threatening France, saying he planned to "fill the streets of Paris with dead bodies." Then in August 2015, a gunman opened fire on a French train car before being subdued by passengers. The suspect was believed to have ties to ISIS.
Looking at these past events, it's no wonder people are wondering if the extremist group is behind the most recent attacks. Incidents like these always leave a lot of confusion and many questions surrounding them, which will hopefully be answered in the coming days.
Here is a map of confirmed areas under attack in France:
