Rare News Desk
PARIS — The latest on the deadly attacks in Paris. (All times local):
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1:35 p.m.
The Paris prosecutor says that the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed in a police raid.
In a statement Thursday, the prosecutor’s office said that Abaaoud’s body was found in an apartment building targeted in the raid in Saint-Denis north of Paris Wednesday. It said he was identified based on skin samples.
1:15 p.m.
People across France are raising a glass of wine in an act of defiance after the deadly attacks on Paris.
The third Thursday in November is “Beaujolais Day,” when vintners release their latest batch of young, fruity Beaujolais Nouveau, and many bars and restaurants hold special tasting sessions.
President Francois Hollande has urged his compatriots to resume their social lives, asking: “What would our country be without its cafes?”
The question resonates loudly in the vibrant area of eastern Paris hit hardest by the attacks.
People there are determined to embrace the things that make life worth living: food, wine and friends.
Restaurateur Frederic Hoffman says: “This is what we do to make things go back to normal. We open the restaurant. We get people together.”
1:10 p.m.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda says that close cooperation of efficient armies is a way of ensuring peace and stability in Europe.
Duda made the statement Thursday to Polish, Czech, Slovak and Hungarian troops taking part in the Common Challenge-15 exercise in Drawsko Pomorskie in Poland
He referred to extremist threats against Europe’s peace that “recently so dramatically affected Europe, precisely speaking France.”
“The only answer that we can have in order to ensure peace and stability to our citizens is to have efficient armies that co-operate well together, ready to jointly carry out key stabilization, peace or humanitarian missions.”
12:50 p.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that the “horrible terrorist attacks in Paris” were more than a strike against France.
She told reporters on Thursday: “This is an attack on our basic values, on our way of life, on freedom… and all of the freedom-loving countries on earth must stand together in all areas to find the perpetrators and also to protect and secure our way of life.”
12:25 p.m.
The French military says it has destroyed 35 Islamic State targets in Syria since last week’s attacks on Paris.
Military spokesman Col. Gilles Jaron said Thursday that French planes dropped about 60 bombs on six sites, and all the targets were Islamic State command centers or training sites.
He told reporters the strikes were aimed at weakening and disorganizing IS.
France, taking part in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq, sharply increased its airstrikes in Syria after Friday’s attacks, which killed at least 129.
The Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier left Wednesday for the eastern Mediterranean, tripling France’s airborne forces in the fight against Islamic State.
12:10 p.m.
Italy is searching for five people flagged by the FBI in response to a U.S. warning about potential targets following the Paris attacks.
Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told RAI state broadcaster on Thursday that Italian law enforcement had been searching for the five people since Wednesday afternoon.
The State Department issued a warning Wednesday that St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Milan’s cathedral and La Scala opera house, as well as churches, synagogues, restaurants, theaters and hotels had been identified as “potential targets.”
Gentiloni adds that the U.S. alert didn’t warn people to stay away from Italy. He said: “We cannot be prisoners of worry.”
12:05 p.m.
Danish and Norwegian police have been asked to be on the lookout for a man that Swedish authorities say is wanted in connection with an investigation into “preparation for a terrorist offense.”
Lisbeth Jessen, spokeswoman for police in Denmark, says Sweden’s Security Service, known as SAPO, said the man entered Sweden this week. Norwegian police have made a similar statement.
SAPO said the request was not linked to the Paris attacks.
Jessen said Thursday they had “no concrete information he may be in Denmark” but that it was part of “the regular police cooperation with Sweden.”
On Wednesday, SAPO raised the country’s terror alert to the second-highest level.
12:05 p.m.
The chief of the European Union’s police coordination organization says its database identifying and tracking suspected foreign fighters traveling between Europe and Syria and Iraq has doubled in size in the past year to now contain some 10,000 names.
Europol Director Rob Wainwright says that 2,000 of those names have been positively confirmed as foreign fighters. The rest are currently considered suspects, associates or facilitators.
Wainwright adds that there is a consensus across Europe that the number of foreign fighters is likely closer to 5,000.
Speaking Thursday in the European Parliament, Wainwright said that Europol’s major priority in recent years in fighting terror has been to “motivate the national authorities to share their counterterrorist data.”
Wainwright says that half of all the entries for the database come from only five of the EU’s 28 member states and one international partner. He did not identify the countries or international partner.
10:45 a.m.
Turkey’s president says the attacks in Paris are spurring hatred against Muslims and refugees in Europe and is urging leaders to call for “common sense” in their countries.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday there were reports of attacks against Muslims and a “hardening of stance” against refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks — developments he said would only serve to “deepen the tragedy”.
Erdogan said: “If we do not thwart racist attacks and fanatical movements, new and dangerous tragedies will become inevitable. Racism united with hatred of Islam is the greatest calamity and danger.”
The Turkish leader said that as a Muslim he was condemning the attacks by the Islamic State group and he urged all other Muslim leaders to do the same.
10:30 a.m.
The director of the European Union’s police coordination organization is warning that the Paris attacks are “a very serious escalation” of the terror threat in Europe and a statement of intent by the Islamic State group.
Europol Director Rob Wainwright says the attacks last Friday that left 129 dead in Paris were “a clear statement of intent by ISIS to export its brutal brand of terrorism to Europe.”
He says Paris was the first time Europe has witnessed an attack similar to a 2008 assault by militants in the Indian city of Mumbai, combining indiscriminate shooting with suicide bombers.
Wainwright was speaking Thursday at a European Parliament debate on the aftermath of the Paris attacks.
10:20 a.m.
The White House says U.S. President Barack Obama still plans to travel to Paris for the upcoming climate talks.
Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes says the U.S. has great confidence in France’s government and a very close intelligence relationship with French security officials.
He says the U.S. has been actively sharing intelligence with France since the attacks last week.
Rhodes says the French will be the ones to make determinations about how to provide security for the climate summit.
Obama is currently scheduled to be in Paris on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. It’s unclear whether the dates will be extended or adjusted in light of the attacks.
