The suspected architect of the Paris attacks was killed during a violent police raid conducted by Paris authorities in the suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday, French authorities say.
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“The attacks in Paris remind us that it will not be enough to defeat ISIL in Syria and Iraq alone”, Obama said.
French warplanes targeted a command centre and a recruitment centre for jihadists in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in the second consecutive night of strikes ordered by President Francois Hollande, a military command spokesman told Reuters.
The jihadist from Belgium had returned from Syria in 2014 and had been involved in four of six foiled attacks in France since spring 2015, he added. Arguments that there should be a religious test before refugees are admitted or that only Syrian Christians should be allowed in are “offensive” and “contrary to American values”, he said.
The prosecutor said fingerprints from the attacker matched those of someone who passed through Greece in October but added that the passport is yet to be authenticated. “Which exact lists they were on is classified”.
“We just now have to be ready for anything, any kind of an attack….” The AP reports that the military said “it has destroyed 35 Islamic State targets in Syria since last week’s attacks on Paris”. The video was among evidence authorities used in concluding that at least one other attacker was at large, the French officials indicated. Two of the eight were hospitalized, the Interior Ministry said.
A French presidential source said Hollande also spoke by phone to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who backed calls for a united front against the militants. They haven’t found him yet.
Police fired around 5,000 rounds of ammunition in the predawn confrontation, an operation that suggested authorities were making headway in their investigations into Friday’s terrorist rampage across Paris but also fed fears of more violence in a city already on edge.
Hollande said the attacks – the deadliest on European soil since the 2004 Madrid train bombings killed 191 – were carried out by Daesh.
This undated image made available in the Islamic State’s English-language magazine Dabiq, shows Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who French authorities say was killed in a raid on Wednesday. They were unable to locate him, the source told CNN.
Ibrahim Abdeslam 31 was linked to Belgian extremist Abdelhamid Abaaoud and convicted in 2010 and 2011 in criminal cases.
– Officials have identified three of the suicide bombers as Frenchmen Samy Amimour, Ismael Omar Mostefai and Bilal Hadfi.
Van Der Sypt told CNN’s Ivan Watson that police questioned the Abdeslam brothers in February. Hadfi was among those who attacked the Stade de France, officials said.
Investigators haven’t revealed much about the suicide bomber. Authorities believe the name is fake. “Screw them. We have the champagne!”
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that Syria could be weeks away from a “big transition”, following on from worldwide talks in Vienna at the weekend. They put 23 people into custody, 104 under house arrest and seized weapons that include a rocket launcher. Why did they call off the match?
USA intelligence agencies have a few insights into who is involved in that effort, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
– The France-England soccer friendly kicked off under tight security at Wembley Stadium in London.
Cameron told lawmakers Wednesday that another 15 are being treated for trauma by the Foreign Office and the Red Cross.
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This follows Russia’s confirmation a bomb planted by IS affiliates brought down the Metrojet airliner over Sinai, killing all 224 on board. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Russian Federation is offering $50 million for information leading to the arrest of those responsible. Egypt’s government said it would “take into consideration” the Russian findings. His role in the carnage has fuelled speculation that Islamic State took advantage of a recent wave of refugees fleeing Syria to slip militants into Europe. “The floor of the flat collapsed and the state of the bodies and what is left of them will demand a few more investigation”.
