Terror in Paris (Updated)

More than 80 people were killed in a mass hostage-taking at a Paris concert hall Friday and many more were feared dead in a series of bombings and shootings, as France declared a national state of emergency. Eight attackers have been killed, police say.

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(16:20 Thai time)

Interestingly, CNN is still reporting 153 dead, 112 in the concert hall. Other agencies, like AFP put the number lower. AFP nows says the toll stands at 128, 87 of them at the concert hall, but this does not include the eight attackers. In addition, 200 were wounded, 80 of them critically.

Meanwhile, BBC reports that police believe two teams were involved, one near the national stadium and the other going from place to place shooting restaurants and bars and ending up inside the Bataclan concert hall. But since this second team would have taken about 40 minutes to complete its killing spree, they can't complelely rule out the possibility another team was involved.

(13:00pm Thai time): CNN continues to report the death toll from last night's terrorist attack in Paris at 153, but that number might be high. The Guardian has just reported that the death toll at the Bataclan concert hall has been revised downwards from 112 to 87 and the overall toll is put at about 120. We'll have to wait for final confirmation.

(9:50am) Multiple sources are quoting French police as saying they believe all the attackers have been killed. That includes attackers at the Bataclan concert hall and outside the French national stadium, but there were also attacks elsewhere and it is not clear if those attackers are still at large.

(10:30: The Guardian has just clarified this: "The Paris police prefect has now confirmed that the attackers at the Bataclan rock venue blew themselves up with suicide belts as police closed in, killing four.

He said the gunmen first sprayed cafes outside the venue with machine gunfire, then went inside the concert hall and killed more before the assault by security forces.

The prefect, Michel Cadot, said one set of attackers was at the Stade de France, and at nearly the same time the second group attacked within the city.

Cadot said all the attackers are believed dead, although authorities are hunting for any possible accomplices.")

(11:20: And more clarification from AFP:

A total of eight militants were killed, including seven by their suicide belts, during Friday's attacks in Paris that left at least 120 dead, a source close to the investigation said.

Four of the attackers were killed in the Bataclan concert hall, three by activating their suicide vests and one shot by police. Three more died near the national stadium and a fourth was killed in a street in eastern Paris.)

The death toll has risen to more than 150 and seems certain to rise. The heaviest casualties by far occurred at the Bataclan concert hall were at least 112 died, among them four" officials" who may be police officers. 19 more people died in a shooting outside a bar and 14 were shot dead in a small Cambodian restaurant. At the moment, at least five attackers are believed dead.

A survivor from the concert hall told CNN there were no security checks at the door and the gunmen killed people one-by-one execution style. He said he was inside minutes at least 15 before escaping. He saw no police as he fled, he said. The attackers were all young and were wearing black clothing.

CNN quotes French police as saying four attackers were killed at the Bataclan, three of whom were wearing explosive belts.

Meanwhile, AFP reports that one of the assailants mentioned France's intervention in Syria's war to justify the attacks, said a witness who was at a concert venue where some 100 people were killed.

"I clearly heard them say 'It's the fault of (French President Francois) Hollande, it's the fault of your president, he should not have intervened in Syria'. They also spoke about Iraq," said Pierre Janaszak, a radio presenter.

More than 100 people killed in Paris 'terror' attacks

Paris, AFP — More than 100 people were killed in a mass hostage-taking at a Paris concert hall Friday and many more were feared dead in a series of bombings and shootings, as France declared a national state of emergency.

Police said around 100 people were killed at the Bataclan music venue in eastern Paris alone, with reports saying armed attackers shot dead people attending a rock concert one by one before police stormed the building.

One witness said an attacker had earlier yelled "Allahu akbar" ("God is greatest") and fired into the crowd at the concert given by US rock band Eagles of Death Metal.

It was one of a series of attacks at seven locations across Paris in an unprecedented night of carnage in the French capital that is still recovering from jihadist attacks in January.

The Bataclan lies just 200 metres (yards) from the former offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine which was one of the targets of those attacks.

It quickly became clear that Friday's attacks would be much bloodier.

In addition to the carnage at the concert hall, at least five people were also killed in three explosions near the Stade de France national stadium in the north of the capital where France were playing Germany in an international football match, security sources said.

Four of the suspected attackers are among the dead, including three who were inside the Bataclan concert hall which was stormed by armed police and another who launched a suicide attack near the Stade de France national stadium.

"Terrorist attacks of an unprecedented level are underway across the Paris region," Hollande said in an emotional televised message.

"There are several dozen dead. It's a horror," he said.

One witness at the Bataclan described a scene of carnage at the concert hall.

"I saw 20 to 25 bodies lying on the floor and people were very badly injured, gunshot wounds," Julien Pierce told Europe 1 radio.

"Some of them were dead. Some of them were very badly wounded, but it was a bloodbath."

Hollande declared a state of emergency across the entire country and said the borders had been closed.

The military had been mobilised to reinforce police and ensure no further attacks took place, he said.

Another attack was reported at a Cambodian restaurant called Petit Cambodge, not far from the Bataclan venue in northeast Paris.

Counter-terrorism prosecutors said they had opened a preliminary investigation.

At the Stade de France, Hollande was attending the match and had to be hastily evacuated.

Spectators flooded the pitch as news of the attacks spread before organisers started an evacuation.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, called for residents to stay at home.

"We heard gunfire, 30 seconds of fire, it was interminable, we thought it was fireworks," said Pierre Montfort, who lives near rue Bichat, where the Cambodian restaurant is located.

"Everyone was on the floor, no one moved," said another eyewitness who had been at the Petit Cambodge restaurant.

"A girl was carried by a young man in his arms. She appeared to be dead."

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