Muslim Terror Attack In Paris France Leaves 18 Dead, Dozen Of Hostages

At least 18 people were killed in shooting attacks in Paris late Friday and three others were killed following several explosions at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, west of Paris, Paris Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman told CNN. He said President Francois Hollande was evacuated at halftime of the France-Germany soccer match.

Hollande, Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve are holding a crisis meeting at the Interior Ministry to address the attacks in Paris and the explosions in Saint-Denis, according to BFMTV.

Paris police tell CNN there were three attacks. Attackers reportedly used AK-47 automatic weapons. There were one or two explosions at the Stade de France.

At least 18 people were killed in shootings in central Paris late Friday, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.

The network reported there was a hostage situation at one of the three sites where shootings took place. BFMTV said the ongoing hostage situation was at a theater named Bataclan.

There was a lockdown at the Stade de France due to possible explosions, according to French media. President Francois Hollande was at the stadium, watching France playing world champions Germany in a friendly soccer match, but he left to go to the Interior Ministry.

Police were outside the scene of one of the shootings, a restaurant in the 10th District.

Lylia Melkonian, a reporter for France 2, told CNN the neighborhood has many restaurants that were packed with patrons. Melkonian said authorities were evacuating the area.

A witness told BFMTV that firefighters were on the scene to treat the injured.

In early January of this year, two gunmen attacked the Paris offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 and wounding 11.

Said and Cherif Kouachi wanted to punish the magazine for the publication of cartoons that they believed mocked the Prophet Mohammed. The Kouachi brothers two days later were shot and killed in a standoff with police in Dammartin-en-Goele.

Amedy Coulibaly, an associate of Said and Cherif Kouachi, attacked a Jewish grocery store in Paris, taking more than a dozen people hostage and killing four. Coulibaly had killed a policewoman the day before, on January 8. Coulibaly was killed when police stormed the kosher market. source

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