Terror attacks rock Paris

A victim under a blanket lays dead outside the Bataclan theater in Paris, Friday Nov. 13, 2015. Well over 100 people were killed in a series of shooting and explosions. French President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency and announced that he was closing the country’s borders. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Investigations into the series of terrorist attacks that killed more than 120 people in Paris are moving forward, with people taken into custody and two of the gun-wielding suicide bombers identified.

French President Francois Hollande has blamed the Islamic extremist group ISIS for the Friday 13th wave of violence that put parts of Paris under siege. He called the coordinated attacks on restaurants, bars, a concert hall and a sports stadium “an act of war.”

ISIS claimed responsibility for the massacres in a statement that said eight of its militants wearing explosive belts and armed with machine guns attacked selected targets across the city.

It was the deadliest terrorist attack in Europe since the Madrid train bombings of 2004, in which 191 people died, according to CNN.

People gather outside for a national service for the victims of the terror attack at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015. Thousands of French troops deployed around Paris on Sunday and tourist sites stood shuttered in one of the most visited cities on Earth while investigators questioned the relatives of a suspected suicide bomber involved in the country’s deadliest violence since World War II. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

According to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, a number of terrorists teams organized coordinated attacks at a number of location throughout Paris. He said that at least 129 people were killed and 352 wounded in the attacks. Ninety-nine of the wounded are reported to be in a very serious condition. He added that seven terrorists were killed, one fewer than the number ISIS claimed were involved.

Two of the dead attackers have been identified. One of them is Ismael Omar Mostefai, 29, according to Jean-Pierre Gorges, the mayor of the French town of Chartres. The other, according to several sources, is Bilal Hafdi, 19 or 20. Mostefai lived in Chartres at least until 2012, said Gorges via Facebook. Authorities are looking for Salah Abdeslam, a Belgium-born French national who is suspected to have been involved in the Paris terror attacks, said the French prosecutor’s office. Belgium has issued an international warrant for him, which was followed by a number of police raids throughout Belgium.

Citing fingerprint evidence, a French senator said that one of the suicide bombers at the Stade de France was carrying a fake Syrian passport and arrived among the refugees on the Greek island of Leros on October 3. The senator also said that two other suicide bombers at the Stade de France carried fake Turkish passports.

Sarajevo city hall is seen illuminated in the colors of French national flag in solidarity with France after the deadly attacks in Paris, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Monday, Nov. 16, 2015. Multiple terrorist attacks across Paris on Friday night have left more than one hundred dead and many more injured. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

The attacks were focused on number of places, firstly Bataclan concert hall where Eagles of Death Metal band had been performing. This was the deadliest site, with at least 89 people killed, Molins said. Three attackers with assault rifles arrived in a car, entered the concert venue and opened fire. They took audience members hostage and regrouped them in front of the stage, which is why most of the victims were found there, Molins said. The attackers talked about Syria and Iraq during a brief address.

While in Stade de France, where France was playing Germany in a soccer match at the time, four people were killed: three suicide bombers and a citizen. Among the evacuated spectators was French president Francois Hollande. More people were killed and wounded in different attacks on Parisian restaurants and bars.

Flowers and candles placed in front of the French embassy for the victims killed in the Friday’s attacks in Paris, France, near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015. Multiple attacks across Paris on Friday night have left scores dead and hundreds injured. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Hollande has declared a state of emergency across France, which lets authorities limit people’s movements and impose zones of security and protection, mobilizing army forces.

The French government says its has also tightened border controls to prevent potential attackers from entering and to capture anyone involved in the attacks, closing down public buildings and tourist attractions like Eiffel Tower.

Following the attacks a lot of countries came up demeaning such acts, while a lot of monuments around the world were lit in the colors of the French flag such as, London Eye and others. While a lot of bands like U2, Coldplay, Foo Fighters and Motorhead cancelled their concerts in Paris to mourn the lost lives. Obama, Putin, Merkel, Cameron, Trudeau, Erdogan, Abduallah II, Rohani, Azhar and Vatican were some of the world leaders condemning the attacks on France.