Hollande Blames Islamic State for "Act of War" in Paris Killings

French President Francois Hollande blamed Islamic State militants for coordinated strikes in Paris that left 129 dead, bringing the conflict with the radical group to the heart of the Western world.

Hollande called the assaults "an act of war," mobilizing the military, declaring a national state of emergency and ordering cultural and tourist sites closed. Seven locations were attacked Friday night in rapid succession by assailants armed with suicide belts and Kalashnikov rifles, most or all of whom are believed to have been killed by night’s end. The suicide bombings were the first ever in France.

The slaughter compounds one of the deepest crises facing European leaders since World War II as they struggle to accommodate a stream of refugees from war-torn Syria while also facing jihadist retribution for air strikes on Islamic State. The deadliest of the Paris attacks, at the Bataclan concert hall, occurred a short walk from the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, where a January rampage began that killed 17.

Friday’s attacks were committed "by a jihadist army against the values that we defend everywhere, against what we are: a free country," Hollande said in a televised address to the nation on Saturday morning. "It was an act of war that was prepared and organized abroad, and with complicity" from individuals in France, he said.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Islamic State said the assaults were retaliation for French airstrikes on its "caliphate." The attacks are "the first drop in the rain, and should serve as a warning,” according to the statement.

France is participating in the U.S.-led coalition that’s bombing Islamic State positions in both Syria and Iraq, and is the only European nation conducting major combat operations in both countries.

Refugee Debate

While there is no evidence refugees were involved, the attacks are certain to intensify debate about accepting migrants fleeing from Syria and Iraq into the European Union, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter this year. Right-wing politicians in some countries argue that the open-door policy advocated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel will let more jihadists into the 28-nation bloc.

They’re also likely to re-open the issue of integrating France’s Muslim population, the largest in Europe -- especially if some or all of the gunmen are found to have been French citizens, as in the Charlie Hebdo violence.

The coordinated incidents began around 9:15 p.m. local time with three suicide bombings near the Stade de France, where Hollande and a crowd of 80,000 were watching a France-Germany soccer game. Almost simultaneously, gunmen with automatic rifles jumped from cars at various bars and restaurants in the vibrant 10th and 11th arrondissements of the capital, shooting at Parisians who moments earlier had been enjoying a normal start to the weekend.

Popular Neighborhoods

The deadliest assault was at Bataclan, where suicide bombers held hundreds hostage, killing over 80 and severely injuring dozens before police stormed the concert venue. The attackers chose targets relatively far from the capital’s more tourist-oriented central districts, focusing instead on neighborhoods popular with locals.

Theresa Cede, a 39-year-old who works in the telecommunications sector, was at Bataclan with a friend when the gunmen burst in, shooting people standing near her on a raised balcony. "I hid underneath the body of a man who was shot in the head. I was covered in blood," Cede said. Another woman lying next to her was severely wounded.

Speaking in French, the gunmen referred to the war in Syria as they moved around the theater, shooting at random with both single shots and automatic fire, said Cede, who escaped unharmed after police stormed the building. "I don’t know how many guardian angels I had looking out for me," she said.

As it stands, the death toll would make Friday’s attacks the worst in Europe since the Madrid bombings of March 2004, which killed 191 people.

U.S. law enforcement officials are concerned the assaults demonstrate an enhanced capacity by jihadists to carry out strikes far from their home bases in the Middle East, an American counter-terrorism official said. They came two weeks after the crash of a Russian airliner departing Egypt that has been blamed on a bomb placed by militants.

"This attack was coordinated, sophisticated and well planned," reminiscent of earlier strikes by Al Qaeda, said Sajjan Gohel, London-based international security director for the Asia-Pacific Foundation. "It represents a major escalation in tactics and strategy."

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