France attacks toll rises to 153: Reports

The toll from a series of explosions and shootings in France capital Paris rose to 153 on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Multiple shootings rocked central Paris Friday night, one of which was at the Bataclan theatre and concert hall where hundreds of people were attending a concert of a rock group.

Also read: Highlights of the Paris terror attack

Four suspected terrorists were killed at the Bataclan theatre.

About seven simultaneous shootings rocked central Paris on Friday night with one of which turned to hostage taking at the Bataclan theatre and concert hall where hundreds of people were attending a concert of a rock group, Xinhua reported.

Also read: Terrorists fired at crowd blindly: Paris attacks witness

Two explosions were heard near the national football stadium Stade de France where a France-Germany friendly soccer match was being played, attended by French President Francois Hollande.

Rushing back to the Interior Ministry from Stade de France, Hollande condemned the "unprecedented terrorist attacks".

 

In the 11th district of Paris, after shooting in the theatre Batacla, police confirmed a hostage taking. During police's deployment in front of the theatre, two or three individuals, heavily armed, opened fire at the security forces.

In an eyewitness report posted on Europe1 website, Julien Pierce, a journalist said "two or three individuals, who are not wearing masks and armed with kalachnikov entered the hall while the concert was underway and started blindly shooting at the crowd".

In a brief statement on television, the French president declared a state of emergency across the country and the borders were to be closed.

 

"Some places will be closed, traffic will be banned and searches may be conducted throughout the Ile-de-France," he said, adding about 1,500 military reinforcements have been deployed "to ensure that no other attack can take place".

In addition, the capital schools and universities will be closed on Saturday.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Paris attacks, but according to the news channel BFMTV, the terrorists shouted "It's for Syria".

The likely coordinated attacks came as France, a member of the US-led coalition combating the Daesh in Syria and Iraq, struck the group's strategic targets this week.

On high alert for terrorist attacks, the French government raised the anti-terrorism alert to maximum and additional thousands of security forces have been poured across the country to protect sensitive sites.

Hollande, who cancelled his participation at the G20 summit, will head a defense meeting on Saturday morning after the deadly attacks has shaken the country's security policy ahead of the high-profile international conference on climate scheduled for the end of this month.

Eiffel Tower goes dark

The lights at Paris' Eiffel Tower were turned off in the memory of the victims.