Post by rodinus on Nov 18, 2015 2:21:11 GMT -6
Hi folks.
As I am living in France and only an hour away from Paris, I thought it normal that I keep you aware from a birds eye view according to French sources as to what is happening right now.
In the wake of last Fridays tragic events (for which we also lost 2 dear family friends), a humongous manhunt has been undertaken in order to track down the scum responsable for the deaths of so many innocents.
This morning at around 04:30 a massive police raid was carried out... and is still underway in the quarter of Paris called St Denis.
Heavy firing of automatic weapons, and at least 5 explosions from inside an apartment have been reported so far ( at 07:30 am) with RAID/BRI (equivalent of the SWAT officers injured (at least 3)). It is now 09:30 am
3 presumed terrorists have been apprehended and at least 2 presumed terrorists have been killed (one by gunfire and one woman with an explosive belt that blew herself up during the first assault by the police).
The Assault is still underway so I will try to keep you informed real time as the situation unfolds.
Summary according to France24 :
Two people have died in the siege, including a woman who blew herself up, police sources are reporting.
Police launched the raids in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, before dawn on Wednesday, in an operation police and judicial sources said was targeting suspected Paris attacks mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
He and several other suspects are holed up inside an apartment building. A helicopter was flying overhead and police have cordoned off the area nearby, including a pedestrian zone lined with shops.
French investigators said Tuesday that they were looking for a second suspect in the attacks after video footage confirmed that there were three men in a car used during the shootings at bars and restaurants in the city.
French President François Hollande is to travel to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama on November 24 and then on to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 26 to discuss international cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group.
France has conducted air strikes against Islamic State group targets in the Syrian city of Raqqa for the third night in a row.
US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with French President Hollande at the Elysée Palace. Afterwards Kerry said the two had discussed greater cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group.
Prosecutors have identified five of the seven dead assailants involved in the attacks, while a search is under way for 26-year-old Belgian Salah Abdeslam.
France has made a formal request to its fellow EU members for military aid and assistance.
More here : www.france24.com/en/20151117-live-france-pounds-raqqa-investigation-europe-belgium
and here : www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/18/us-france-shooting-idUSKCN0T22IU20151118
Tweets from Agence France Press : twitter.com/AFP?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
Warmest
Rod
As I am living in France and only an hour away from Paris, I thought it normal that I keep you aware from a birds eye view according to French sources as to what is happening right now.
In the wake of last Fridays tragic events (for which we also lost 2 dear family friends), a humongous manhunt has been undertaken in order to track down the scum responsable for the deaths of so many innocents.
This morning at around 04:30 a massive police raid was carried out... and is still underway in the quarter of Paris called St Denis.
Heavy firing of automatic weapons, and at least 5 explosions from inside an apartment have been reported so far ( at 07:30 am) with RAID/BRI (equivalent of the SWAT officers injured (at least 3)). It is now 09:30 am
3 presumed terrorists have been apprehended and at least 2 presumed terrorists have been killed (one by gunfire and one woman with an explosive belt that blew herself up during the first assault by the police).
The Assault is still underway so I will try to keep you informed real time as the situation unfolds.
Summary according to France24 :
Two people have died in the siege, including a woman who blew herself up, police sources are reporting.
Police launched the raids in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, before dawn on Wednesday, in an operation police and judicial sources said was targeting suspected Paris attacks mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
He and several other suspects are holed up inside an apartment building. A helicopter was flying overhead and police have cordoned off the area nearby, including a pedestrian zone lined with shops.
French investigators said Tuesday that they were looking for a second suspect in the attacks after video footage confirmed that there were three men in a car used during the shootings at bars and restaurants in the city.
French President François Hollande is to travel to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama on November 24 and then on to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 26 to discuss international cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group.
France has conducted air strikes against Islamic State group targets in the Syrian city of Raqqa for the third night in a row.
US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with French President Hollande at the Elysée Palace. Afterwards Kerry said the two had discussed greater cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group.
Prosecutors have identified five of the seven dead assailants involved in the attacks, while a search is under way for 26-year-old Belgian Salah Abdeslam.
France has made a formal request to its fellow EU members for military aid and assistance.
More here : www.france24.com/en/20151117-live-france-pounds-raqqa-investigation-europe-belgium
and here : www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/18/us-france-shooting-idUSKCN0T22IU20151118
Tweets from Agence France Press : twitter.com/AFP?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
Warmest
Rod