French Police are Chasing 'Four Heavily Armed People' in a Citroen That Forced its Way Through a Motorway Toll Road Heading for Paris
- Police currently in pursuit of Citroen containing 'four heavily armed men'
- Car reportedly stormed through motorway toll road and is heading to Paris
- The country remains on high alert after a string of terror attacks last night
- At least 127 people were killed when gunmen and suicide bombers hit city
Daily Mail UK, 14 November 2015
French police are said to be in pursuit of a Citroën Berlingo containing 'four heavily armed people' heading to Paris after it forced its way through a toll in the Ablis area of Yvelines in France.
The town is approximately 40 miles from the centre of Paris and the incident comes as police remain on high alert following a string of deadly terror attacks across the French capital last night.
Police have also confirmed they are currently hunting a black Seat vehicle, registered abroad, which is 'wanted in connection with the attacks'. Pictured: Snipers (left) and armed officers (right) could be seen on patrol in the French capital today as the city mourns the loss (inset) of at least 127 people killed in last night's terror attacks.
Police are reportedly chasing a car containing four 'heavily armed men' who stormed through a motorway toll road as they headed towards Paris.
French police are said to be in pursuit of a Citroën Berlingo after it forced its way through a toll on the A10 in the Ablis area of Yvelines in north-west France at lunchtime today.
The town is approximately 40 miles from the centre of Paris and the incident comes as police remain on high alert following a string of deadly terror attacks across the French capital last night.
Police have also confirmed they are currently hunting a black Seat vehicle, registered abroad, which is 'wanted in connection with the attacks'.
French police are said to be in pursuit of a Citroën Berlingo containing 'four heavily armed people' after it forced its way through a toll on the A10 in the Ablis area of Yvelines in north-west France.
Pictured: Snipers on patrol in the French capital this morning following the string of deadly terror attacks last night which killed 127
Two armed policemen were among the extra officers drafted in to patrol streets near the Eiffel Tower in Paris
The vehicle is described by French police has having a number plate of GUT 18053 and five-spoke alloy wheels.
Earlier today it was reported that armed officers and a police helicopter were scrambled to the Bagnolet area of Paris following reports of gunfire and explosions.
Residents were reportedly told to stay indoors but local authorities later confirmed the 'explosions' were the result of fireworks being let off at a wedding celebration.
France remains on high alert after a string of barbaric terror attacks were carried out across the French capital, leaving at least 127 people dead.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the wave of terror attacks, which saw gunman Kalashnikov-wielding fanatics storm four restaurants and a packed concert in the city centre and two suicide bombers blow themselves up outside the State de France sports stadium.
At least eight suspected terrorists were said to be killed during the sickening acts, with seven of the gunmen killing themselves.
Paris prosecutors said the authorities are still looking for any accomplices.
The incident comes as police remain on high alert following a string of deadly terror attacks across Paris
Gunshots could be seen on the windows of Le Carillon bar in Paris today after at least 127 people were killed
France went into lockdown overnight and French President Francis Hollande closed the borders.
Following the attacks, the French President declared a state of emergency and said: 'To all those who have seen these awful things, I want to say we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless'.
He also ordered that 1,500 soldiers be deployed to Paris after the string of violence and that French borders are closed to prevent suspects' escape.
Much of Europe remains on high alert following the horrific terror attacks, and Gatwick Airport in London was evacuated this morning following reports of a man with a 'grenade'.
Holidaymakers and staff were ushered out of the airport from 9.30am and the bomb squad called in following the discovery of a 'suspicious package'.
MORE:
Paris Suicide Bomber with a Syrian Passport Came to Europe Through Greece in October as it Emerges Another of the Isis Killers was Just 15.
Police Raided Homes & Have Arrested 'a Number' of People in Brussels and Germany
- French police revealed a Syrian passport was found on a bomber's body
- The passport owner passed through Greece in October, entering Europe
- A second passport, from Egypt, was found on the body of another bomber
- One of the three attackers at the stadium is thought to have been just 15
- A 'number of arrests' linked to the attacks have been made in Belgium & Germany
Daily Mail UK, 14 November 2015
A Paris suicide bomber who was carrying a Syrian passport passed through Greece as a refugee in October, according to a Greek minister.
The passport was retrieved from one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up outside the Stade de France stadium as part of last night's coordinated attacks, which killed at least 127 people.
The passport holder, who is understood to be 25, passed through the island of Leros of October 3 as a refugee, where he was identified ‘according to EU rules’.
But Greece’s deputy minister in charge of police, Nikos Toscas, did not know if the passport was checked by other countries through which the holder possibly passed on his way to France.
A Syrian passport has been found on the body of one of the suicide bombers who blew himself up outside the Stade de France stadium in Paris last night
A Greek police source said French authorities had asked other countries in Europe, including Greece, to check on the passport.
However it has not yet been confirmed whether the Syrian passport actually belonged to the bomber, or whether it was authentic
.......or one of the many forged passports flooding into Europe with the refugee crisis.
The French police reportedly asked the Greek authorities today to check the records of 10 people suspected of being linked to the attacks, according to the French newspaper Liberation.
Another of the terrorists involved in last night's attacks in Paris has been officially identified as a Parisian, according to local media reports.
The man, who was killed at the Bataclan, was identified using his fingerprints and was from the neighbourhood of Courcouronnes, about 20miles south of Paris.
French reports say that the man, who was around 30 years old, was already known to French anti-terrorist authorities prior to last night's attacks.
Two suicide blasts and a bomb exploded outside the stadium last night, killing six people, as part of a series of coordinated attacks across the capital which left at least 127 dead
An Egyptian passport has also been reportedly recovered from one of the three men who attacked the stadium.
One of the three attackers who died at the stadium is believed to have been as young as 15 years old.
Three of the eight terrorists have now been identified: the two men with the Syrian and Egyptian passports outside the stadium, and the known French extremist killed at the Bataclan.
Meanwhile, Belgium police have arrested 'a number' of people in Brussels believed to be connected to the Paris attacks.
Police launched raids in the Molenbeek district of the Belgian capital, after a car with Belgian licence plates was spotted outside the Bataclan last night.
Up to three raids were carried out in the Molenbeek district, where three of the suspects are believed to be from.
Mehdi Nemmouche, the mastermind behind the May 2014 attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels, during which four people were killed, also lived in Molenbeek on his return from Syria.
It’s also reported by Le Parisien newspaper that the killers came in a car registered in Belgium.
Belgian police launched up to to three raids in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, in Belgium, where three of the suspects are believed to be from, with 'a number' of arrests made
A second attacker at the stadium is believed to have been as young as 15. Supporters of both France and Germany were held in the stadium until they could be safely evacuated
The French newspaper reported that one of the terrorists who carried out the attack at the Bataclan Theatre has been identified as a known French extremist.
According to French daily El Figaro, investigators have recordings of two of the terrorists at the Bataclan communicating in French.
Others told of how AK47 wielding terrorists shouted 'Allah Akbar' as they 'blindly' opened fire into a crowd of people.
Others reported terrorists shouting 'This is for Syria'.
All eight terrorists died during the attacks, with seven killing themselves in suicide blasts and the last being shot by police.
Four of the attackers died at the Bataclan Theatre, three died at the Stade de France football stadium and the last on the Voltaire Boulevard.
All the remains of the terrorists are being forensically examined at the Forensic Medicine Institute and investigators hope that DNA traces or useable fingerprints will tie in to those in known offenders files.
In August, a French radical arrested on his return from Raqqa, Syria, claimed that he had been instructed to target a concert hall.
Former head of internal security, Claude Chouet, said that police are also hunting for an explosives specialist who would have primed and fitted the suicide vests, but would have been far away from the actual explosions.
It has been reported that one of the suicide bombers at the Stade de France had a ticket for the football match, but was turned away by security when they discovered his suicide vest.
It is believed that he detonated his vest when it was discovered, according to a guard who was stationed by the players' tunnel.
Around two minutes later, a second suicide blast went off outside the stadium. Shortly afterwards, a third attacker detonated explosives at a nearby McDonald's.
ISIS released a statement today, claiming responsibility for the attacks;
Quote:
‘A group of believers from the soldiers of the Caliphate (may Allah strengthen and support it) set out targeting the capital of prostitution and vice…Paris,’ said the group in a statement.
‘Paris was thereby shaken beneath the crusaders’ feet, who were constricted by its streets.
‘Let France and all nations following its path know that they will continue to be at the top of the target list for the Islamic State and that the scent of death will not leave their nostrils as long as they partake in the crusader campaign.
‘Indeed, this is just the beginning.’
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Police sources reported that the terrorists appeared to be ‘seasoned’ and ‘well-trained’.
The question of their training in a jihadi-controlled area, including Syria, has been raised as part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, according to France’s BFMTV, a Volkswagen Polo has been found near to the Bataclan that is believed to match witness descriptions of the car used by attackers.
A witness present at the Bataclan Theatre told Reuters that none of the other attackers were over 25, and all had brown hair.
‘The one I saw wore a black tracksuit with white stripes,’ they added. ‘He was pretty quiet, which surprised me.
‘At one point I turned around and we didn’t know what was going on, but then I saw he was shooting at someone and I understood.’
Another witness who was in the road front of the concert hall before the attack and saw at least one of the assassins told BMFTV that he wasn't hooded: 'I saw a guy, quite small, white, European looking. He was in front of the Bataclan. He had his gun to his shoulder and I saw the flashes and then I heard "Bam.Bam.Bam".'
Local residents suspect that the terrorists came from within the community, and are very suspicious of the mosque.
'They targeted the most popular cafes with young people, and they knew the local area in detail, even the one way system,' said Natalie Augier, a historian and terrorism expert who lives nearby.
'They had kids on the corners with mobile phones to warn them if the police were coming. They had so much local knowledge, and they just melted away afterwards.
The distressing scenes in the French capital have sent shockwaves across social media, with a number of campaigns launched to help people who were unable to get safely home
'They knew this was a soft target with not many police and they carefully chose their moment, their target and their method.
'There are serious problems with integration here. We now have the same problems as they have in the Middle East. We are paying for our stupidity.'
French President Francois Hollande said ISIS group orchestrated the attacks, and ISIS has claimed responsibility.
It is not yet known whether the perpetrators of the attacks were known to the French anti-terrorist services and how the attacks were coordinated.
A coordinated attack of this magnitude was one of Europe’s greatest fears following the rise of ISIS.
More than 500 French fighters are thought to be with ISIS in Syria and Iraq according to official figures, while 250 have returned and some 750 more expressed a desire to go.
France was placed in lockdown after at least eight militants, all wearing suicide vests, brought unprecedented violence to the streets of the French capital in the bloodiest attack in Europe since the Madrid train bombings in 2004.
Francois Hollande accused ISIS of orchestrating the worst attacks in France for more than 70 years, declaring it an 'act of war' and vowing to 'mercilessly' strike back.
In a televised address, the French President said the attacks 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'.
Police are also hunting accomplices amid fears of further attacks, with the arrest of a 51-year-old man in Germany last week after firearms were discovered in his car now being linked to the atrocities, according to media reports.