French President Francois Hollande on Saturday said that the Islamic State orchestrated the Paris attack that left more than 120 dead, even as the terrorist group released an undated video threatening to attack France if bombings of its fighters continued.
Gunmen and bombers attacked seven locations around Paris in what was the worst attack in France since World War II.
Islamic State’s foreign media arm, Al-Hayat Media Centre, made the threat through a militant who called on French Muslims to carry out attacks.
“As long as you keep bombing you will not live in peace. You will even fear traveling to the market,” said the bearded Arabic-speaking militant, flanked by other fighters.
President Hollande said the attacks were “an act of war” organised from abroad by Islamic State with internal help.
“Faced with war, the country must take appropriate action,” he said, without saying what that meant.
Hollande said he would address parliament on Monday in an extraordinary meeting and the country would observe three days of official mourning for the victims of Friday’s attacks.
The attacks at a stadium, concert hall and cafes and restaurants in northern and eastern Paris were “an act of war committed by Daesh that was prepared, organised and planned from outside (of France)” with help from inside France, Hollande said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
{{/usCountry}}The attacks at a stadium, concert hall and cafes and restaurants in northern and eastern Paris were “an act of war committed by Daesh that was prepared, organised and planned from outside (of France)” with help from inside France, Hollande said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
{{/usCountry}}“All measures to protect our compatriots and our territory are being taken within the framework of the state of emergency,” he said.
According to a report by AP, an eyewitness said that at the packed Bataclan concert hall he heard the assailants yell “Allahu Akbar” - God is great in Arabic - as they started their killing spree and took hostages.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, although jihadists on Twitter immediately praised them and criticized France’s military operations against Islamic State extremists.
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