Paris attacks: France seeks global coalition against ISIS

French President Franois Hollandecalled on the United States and Russia on Monday to join a global coalition to destroy ISISfollowing the attacks across Paris, and announced a wave of measures to combat terrorism in France.

"France is at war,"Hollandetold a joint session of parliament at the Palace of Versailles, promising to increase funds for national security and strengthen anti-terrorism laws in response to the suicide bombings and shootings that killed 129.

"We're not engaged in a war of civilizations, because these assassins do not represent any. We are in a war against jihadist terrorism, which is threatening the whole world," he told a packed, sombre chamber.

• BelgianAbdelhamidAbaaoudidentified as presumed mastermind
• ANALYSISThe hollow promise of a'merciless' war against ISIS: Neil Macdonald
• The 'us' vs. 'them' that divides a stricken Paris won't heal it: KeithBoag
• Paris-style ISIS attacks could hit anywhere, including Canada
• Bystanders give first-hand accounts of panic atBataclanconcert hall, stadium
• PHOTOS|Panic and tension grip city while mourners gather

Parliamentarians gaveHollandea standing ovation before spontaneously singing the Marseillaisenational anthem in a show of political unity following the worst atrocity France has seen since the Second World War.

French president defiant in speech to parliament

9 years ago

Duration 2:02

Franois Hollande declares France in 'state of war' against Islamic State

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) grouphas claimed responsibility for Friday's co-ordinated attacks, saying they were in retaliation for France's involvement in U.S.-backed air strikes in Iraq and Syria, inwhich Canada is also participating.

Hollandepledged that French fighter jets would intensify their assaults and said he would meet U.S. President BarackObamaand Russian President VladimirPutinin the coming days to urge them to pool their resources.

"We must combine our forces to achieve a result that is already too late in coming," the president said.

The U.S.-led coalition has been bombing ISISfor more than a year. Russia joined the conflict in September, but Western officials say it has mainly hit foreign-backed fighters battling Syrian PresidentBasharal-Assad, not ISIS.

No ground troops, Obama says

Speaking in Turkey at the same time asHollande,Obamacalled Friday's attacks a "terrible and sickening setback"but maintained that the U.S.-led coalition was making progress. "Even as we grieve with our French friends ... we can't lose sight that there has been progress,"Obamasaid at a Group of 20 summit, ruling out sending in ground troops.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Paris to pay respects to those killed in the attacks, said,"Tonight we are
all Parisians" and pledged the United States would stand "shoulder to shoulder" with France against ISIS militants.
He is due to meet Hollande on Tuesday morning.

Much of France came to a standstill at midday for a minute's silence to remember the dead, many of whom were young people killed as they enjoyed a night out. Metro trains stopped, pedestrians paused on pavements and office workers stood at their desks.

Paris moment of silence

9 years ago

Duration 4:13

French President Franois Hollande and thousands of Parisians gather for a moment of silence for the victims of Friday's attacks, then sing 'La Marseillaise.'

But in a sign of life slowly returning to normal, schools and museums re-opened after a 48-hour shutdown, as did the Eiffel Tower, which lit up the night sky in the red, white and blue colours of the French flag following two days of darkness.

ISIS threats

Investigators have identified a Belgian national living in Syria as the possible mastermind behind the attacks, which targeted bars, restaurants, a concert hall and soccer stadium.

Friday's act of war was decided upon and planned in Syria, prepared and organised in Belgium and carried out on our territory with the complicity of French citizens.-FranoisHollande, French president

"Friday's act of war was decided upon and planned in Syria, prepared and organised in Belgium and carried out on our territory with the complicity of French citizens," saidHollande.

Prosecutors have identified five of the seven dead assailants four Frenchmen and a foreigner fingerprinted in Greece last month. His role in the carnage has fuelled speculation that ISIStook advantage of a recent wave of refugees fleeing Syria to slip militants into Europe.

Police believe one attacker is on the runand suspect at least four people helped organize the mayhem.

"We know that more attacks are being prepared, not just against France but also against other European countries," French Prime Minister ManuelVallstold RTL Radio. "We are going to live with this terrorist threat for a long time."

ISIS warned in a video on Monday that any country hitting it would suffer the same fate as Paris, promising specifically to target Washington.

French Interior Minister BernardCazeneuvetold reporters police had arrested nearly two dozen people in 168 raids overnightand seized arms, including a rocket launcher and automatic weapons,.

Police carry out raids in Belgium

9 years ago

Duration 1:12

Police arrest man in Molenbeek as they continue search for key suspect in the Paris attacks

"Let this be clear to everyone, this is just the beginning. These actions are going to continue," he said.

Hollandesaid he would create 5,000 jobs in the security forces, boost prison service staff by 2,500 and avoid cuts to defence spending before 2019.He acknowledged this would break EU budget rulesbut said national security was more important.

He also said he would ask parliament to extend for three months a state of emergency he declared on Friday, which gives security forces sweeping powers to search and detain suspects.

CIA director John Brennan warned on Monday that ISIS militants may have similar operations ready to launch, but foiling those plots could prove difficult because Europe'sintelligence and security resources are severely
stretched.

• Trudeauinsists Canada still active in anti-ISIS coalition
• A timeline of ISIS and al-Qaeda attacks
• ANALYSISlTrudeauand ISIS: Bombing still a bad idea?
• After Paris, Republicans strengthen resolve on Syrian refugees

Manhunt

A source close to the investigation said Belgian national Abdelhamid Abaaoud, currently in Syria, was suspected of having ordered the Paris operation.

"He appears to be the brains behind several planned attacks in Europe," the source told Reuters. RTL Radio said Abaaoud was a 27-year-old from the Brussels district of Molenbeek, home to many Muslim immigrants and a focal point for Islamist radicalism in recent years.

Police in Brussels have detained two suspects and are hunting Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old Frenchman based in Belgium.

One of his brothers died in the Paris assault, while a third brother was arrested onthe weekend but later released.

Police in France named two of the French attackers as Ismael Omar Mostefai, 29, from Chartres, southwest of Paris, and Samy Amimour, 28, from the Paris suburb of Drancy.

France believes Mostefai, a petty criminal who never served time in jail, visited Syria in 2013-2014.

His radicalization underlined the trouble police face trying to capture an elusive enemy raised in their own cities.

"He was a normal man," said Christophe, his neighbour in Chartres. "Nothing made you think he would turn violent."

Latest official figures estimate that 520 French nationals are in the Syrian and Iraqi war zones, including 116 women. Around 137 have died in the fighting, 250 have returned home and around 700 have plans to travel to join the jihadist factions.

The man stopped in Greece in October was carrying a Syrian passport in the name of Ahmad Al Mohammad.

Police said they were still checking to see if the document was authenticbut said the dead man's fingerprints matched those on record in Greece.

Fierce debate

Greek officials said the passport holder had crossed from Turkey to the Greek islands last month and then registered for asylum in Serbia before heading north, following a route taken by hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers this year.

His role in the mission has re-ignited a fierce debate in Europe about how to tackle a continuing influx of refugees, with anti-immigrant parties calling for borders to be closed against the flood of newcomers fleeing the Middle East.

It has also unleashed a partisan backlash in the UnitedStates against Obama's plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees inthe coming year, a fraction of the hundreds of thousands thatEuropean countries have pledged to take in.

Seventeen Republican governors and one Democratic one saidthey would refuse to allow Syrian refugees to settle in theirstates, and Republican presidential candidates called on theWhite House to suspend its refugee plan. The Paris
attacks have thrust national security to the top of U.S. voters'concerns ahead of the November 2016 presidential election.