PARIS, France — ISIS claimed responsibility for gunfire and blasts that targeted six sites Friday night in Paris, killing 128 people in one of Europe’s deadliest massacres in recent years.
In an online statement distributed by supporters Saturday, the terror group said eight militants wearing explosive belts and armed with machine guns attacked precisely selected areas in the French capital.
In addition to the people killed, 180 others were injured, according to the Paris Police Prefecture. More than half of them are in critical condition.
Over 100 people are reported dead after what are being called terror attacks across Paris.
Americans are among the injured in the Paris attacks, State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said Saturday.
“The United States Embassy in Paris is working round the clock to assist American citizens affected by this tragedy,” Toner said in a statement. “The U.S. government is working closely with French authorities to identify American victims. We are aware there are Americans among the injured, and are offering them the full range of consular assistance.”
In Paris, a Syrian passport was found near the body of an attacker outside the Stade de France, according to a police source, CNN affiliate France 2 said. Multiple local media are reporting the same.
President Francois Hollande blamed the attacks on ISIS, calling it “an act of war” by the militants. He said it was planned from the outside — “with inside complicity.”
The crowds flooded the stadium floor after a series of explosions at the soccer match between France and Germany
“When the terrorists are capable of doing such acts, they must know that they will face a France very determined,” he said.
In the chaotic aftermath of the attacks, there was no clarity on the number of casualties.
Earlier, the Interior Ministry put the death toll at 153 people Friday, but a day later, the Paris police lowered it to 128 people.
Also on Saturday, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the state of emergency in France could mean restrictions on people’s movements, among other measures. Border controls were tightened as of Friday, and the gendarmerie paramilitary police are on heightened alert, he said.
Night of horror
Gunmen hit Friday night when bars and restaurants were bustling with residents and tourists. When they stormed in, glass shattered under the rage of bullets. Excited weekend chatter turned into panicked screams.
One of the targets was near a soccer match as France played world champion Germany. Terrified fans huddled together and streamed onto the field after blasts went off. Others hugged.
At the Bataclan, a concert hall where most of the fatalities occurred, fans were listening to American rock band Eagles of Death Metal when the blasts started.
"People yelled, screamed," said Julien Pearce, a radio reporter who was there. "It lasted for 10 minutes. Ten horrific minutes where everybody was on the floor covering their head."
Six locations
Eight terrorists are dead following the attacks on six locations in Paris and nearby areas, prosecutor's spokeswoman Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre said.
The prosecutor's office said it cannot confirm whether all terrorists have been killed because it has not determined the total number of attackers. Of the eight, seven died in suicide bombings, officials said.
The attackers targeted a concert hall, a stadium, restaurants and bars.
Ilan Deutsch captured the crowd as they closed access to the Stade de France, after attacks in Paris Friday. "It was a nightmare, the crowd was anxious and bumping into each other," said Deutsch
Concert hall
Most of the deaths were inside the Bataclan concert hall, where a witness said gunmen stormed in, firing rifles and shouting, "Allah akbar." At least 80 people died in the attack there.
Earlier Friday, the Interior Ministry had put the death toll at the concert hall at more than 100.
Later, the Paris prosecutor said the number of dead at the hall was "around 80." The death toll is expected to rise.
"We lay down on the floor not to get hurt. It was a huge panic," Pearce said. "The terrorists shot at us for 10 to 15 minutes. It was a bloodbath."
The gunmen seized hostages before French police stormed in and rescued dozens of people.
Four attackers were killed at the concert hall, including three who were wearing explosives belts, police spokesman Michel Cadot told France Info radio.
Michael Dorio, brother of Eagles of Death Metal drummer Julian Dorio, said he spoke to the musician after the attack.
Dorio said when his brother and his band mates heard the gunshots, they stopped playing, took off backstage and exited.
Larry Langner captured this photo outside the Bataclan theater in Paris, after gunmen stormed the venue, killing dozens.
Bars and restaurants
Charlotte Brehaut and a friend were dining at a Cambodian restaurant in Paris, she said.
"All of a sudden, we heard huge gunshots and glass coming through the windows," she said. "We ducked with the other diners."
More people were killed at the Le Petit Cambodge restaurant, authorities said.
In addition to the Cambodian restaurant, others were killed in the 10th district of Paris. More people were killed on Avenue de la Republique, also in the 10th district of the French capital.
Others were killed outside La Belle Epuipe bar in the 11th district.
CNN iReporter Chris Morrow from San Diego was staying five minutes from the Cambodian restaurant covering an event.
"I heard an explosion and pop, pop, pop, which sounded like gunfire. I instinctively grabbed my phone and started filming out of the window."
"The men were huddling around and there was no one on the street except them. They had long shotguns and seemed hysterical, screaming and not really sure what to do.
"They tried a few apartment doors, trying to get in but they were locked. In the end, they ran towards the river. I am not sure if they were police or the attackers."
One World Trade Center will remain lit in French colors for a few days.
Stadium
Some explosions hit near the Stade de France outside Paris, home of the national sports teams. Four people died in those attacks, authorities said.
One of the blasts appears to be a suicide bombing, a Western intelligence source told CNN.
Three suicide bombers died in the blasts. A dismembered body consistent with the aftermath of an explosion from that type of device was found at the scene, authorities said.
President Barack Obama on Friday called the attacks in Paris an "outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians." "This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share," Obama said from the White House briefing room.
Concerns
President Barack Obama spoke to Hollande and offered him support and condolences. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are closely monitoring the situation, but there is no credible or specific threat in the United States, a U.S. government official said.
"The two leaders pledged to work together, and with nations around the world, to defeat the scourge of terrorism," the White House said in a statement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the attackers hate freedom, and vowed her nation will help lead the fight against terrorists.
Previous massacre
In January, two gunmen attacked the Paris offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 and wounding 11.
Two attackers, who were brothers, said they wanted to punish the magazine for the publication of cartoons that they believed mocked the Prophet Mohammed. Two days later, the brothers were shot to death in a standoff with police in Dammartin-en-Goele.
Their associate attacked a Jewish grocery store in Paris, taking more than a dozen people hostage and killing four. Police stormed the kosher market and killed him.
Hollande declared a state of emergency following the attack Friday and said border security has been ramped up.
Although the country has been wounded, "France always rises up again," he said Saturday in the wake of the attacks.
He declared three days of national mourning.
