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The Islamabad Marriott Hotel Bombing
The Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing occurred on the night of 20 September 2008, when a dumper truck filled with explosives was detonated in front of the Marriott Hotel in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, killing at least 54 people, injuring at least 266 and leaving a 60 ft (20 m) wide, 20 ft (6 m) deep crater outside the hotel. The majority of the casualties were Pakistanis; at least five foreign nationals were also killed and fifteen others reported injured. The attack occurred only hours after President Asif Ali Zardari made his first speech to the Pakistani parliament. The Marriott was the most prestigious hotel in the capital, and was located near government buildings, diplomatic missions, embassies and high commissions.
During the investigation, three suspected terrorists were arrested by the Pakistani police. They were suspected of having facilitated the suicide bomber. However later they were acquitted of all charges as no evidence was ever presented against them.
A few months after the hotel's bombing the Government of Pakistan had re-constructed it, and the Islamabad Marriott reopened officially on 28 December 2008.
Attack
The hotel blast caused a severe natural gas leak that set the top floor of the five-story, 258-room hotel on fire, police said. The explosion was heard 15 kilometers away. The blaze that followed quickly engulfed the entire structure of the Marriott hotel. About two-thirds of the building caught fire as a result of the explosion after a natural gas pipe was blown open, and the reception area was completely destroyed.
The owner of the Marriott Hotel, Hashoo Group, owned by Sadruddin Hashwani, said the truck carrying the bomb had been stopped at the front barrier. "Some shots were fired. One of our guards fired back, and in the meantime the suicide bomber detonated all the explosives. All the guards on the gate died", said Hashwani.
Victims
Pakistan 46 245
United States 3 1
Denmark 1 3
Czech Republic 1
Vietnam 1
Germany 1 7
Egypt 1
United Kingdom 4
Saudi Arabia 1
Morocco 1
Philippines 1
Lebanon 1
Afghanistan 1
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 1
Total 54 266
Most of the dead were Pakistani citizens; several foreigners were also killed. Two American military personnel and a Danish intelligence agent were killed, and a U.S. State Department employee was missing and presumed dead. The Czech ambassador to Pakistan, Dr. Ivo Žďárek, also died in the ensuing fire along with his Vietnamese companion. Although Žďárek had survived the initial blast, he returned to the hotel to help in the rescue effort but was trapped in the burning building. An Egyptian citizen also died in the attack. In addition, six Germans, four Britons and a Filipina receptionist from the hotel were among the injured.
Meeting of the Pakistani leadership
Pakistan's top leaders were to have been in the Islamabad Marriott hotel when it was bombed; instead, having changed their plans at the last minute, they gathered for dinner at the Prime Minister's house, a few hundred yards from the explosion, following President Asif Ali Zardari's maiden address to a joint session of parliament. "The national assembly speaker had arranged a dinner for the entire leadership – for the president, prime minister and armed services chiefs – at the Marriott that day", the Interior ministry head, Rehman Malik, told reporters.
However, the hotel owner, Sadruddin Hashwani, denied that such a meeting had ever been scheduled to take place. According to a spokesman for Hashwani, "We didn't have any reservation for such a dinner that the government official is talking about."
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said both Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned the attack and vowed their determination to deal with terrorism, with Law Minister Farooq Naek stating "this is Pakistan's 9/11".
Explosives used
Government advisor Rehman Malik said RDX and TNT were used in the attack. Approximately 600 kg (1,300 lb) of RDX was mixed with TNT (Torpex or H6) and a mixture of mortar and ammunition to increase the explosive capacity. Aluminium powder was also mixed with the material to further enhance this capability. Torpex is about 50 percent more powerful than TNT by weight. The blast was heard for many miles throughout the capital.
"Delay switches" might also have been used. Guards were first alerted by a minor blast, which was followed by the much larger explosion about four minutes later.
Video of the attack
The Pakistani government released the CCTV footage of the attack at a press conference saying that a six-wheeled dumper truck filled with explosives and an accelerant pulled up at the gate and first caught fire before exploding a few minutes later.
Hashwani claim
Sadruddin Hashwani, the owner of Islamabad Marriott Hotel, alleged that President Asif Ali Zardari might have been involved in the attack, citing his old rivalry with the President.
American presence
An unnamed senior security official stated that about 30 U.S. Marines, scheduled to go to Afghanistan, were staying at the hotel, and they were believed to have been the targets of the bombing. This conflicted with information given by another unnamed official, who stated that the Marines were in Pakistan in connection with the visit by U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, who met the Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and other government officials on Wednesday. The personnel were staying on the fourth floor of the hotel, which was also among the most severely damaged by the fire which ensued following the bomb blast. According to the Dawn, a number of the marines who stayed at the hotel sustained injuries; the newspaper also cited an unnamed law enforcement official stating "personnel of a U.S. security agency" were in all likelihood a target of the attack. There are also reports that more Americans were present at the hotel, as several senior CIA officers were visiting Islamabad at the time of the attack and were believed to be staying at the hotel, according to unnamed "well placed sources". A 29 May 2009 press release from NSA reads: CTM3 Matthew J. O'Bryant, USN, a Navy Cryptologist, was assigned to Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) Maryland. CTM3 O'Bryant made the ultimate sacrifice on 20 September 2008 while performing a cryptologic mission in Pakistan. The hotel has a direct line of sight to the telecom system in Islamabad Pakistan. The other American service member killed was Major Rodolfo Ivan Rodriguez, USAF. Major Rodriguez was doing work for the US Embassy and staying at the Marriott at the time of the attack.
Claims of American marines breaching security
An MP for the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani, has come forward with testimony evidencing a purportedly serious security breach at the Marriott on the night between 16 and 17 September, several days before the bombing. Alam Gillani and two friends are said to have witnessed several large steel boxes being unloaded from a U.S. Embassy truck by a group of U.S. Marines and, according to someone at the hotel, transported to the fourth and fifth floors. Among the several people who witnessed this incident was Pakistan Peoples Party leader Sajjad Chaudhry. However, Alam Gilani was the only one who objected to and protested the apparent security breach taking place, but was met with silence from the American Marines. The hotel security staff did not respond to Alam Gilani's protests as they passively watched what was taking place, not being allowed to go near the boxes by the U.S. Marines. Alam Gilani has since denounced the newspaper account, asserting that he was merely making light conversation with the journalist; the newspaper, however, stands by its account. Pakistani authorities are also investigating this issue.
The American Embassy has said that it routinely rents rooms at the Marriott. Confronted with the activities of the U.S. Marines on the night of 16/17 September, embassy spokesperson Lou Fintor stated: "A team of support personnel often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain U.S. government officials. They often carry communication and office equipment required to support large delegations, such as high-level administration officials and members of the U.S. Congress." However, the incident occurred after Admiral Mullen's departure.
Consequences
President Asif Ali Zardari was considering delaying his visit to the US to attend the UN General Assembly session in the wake of the bombing. MP Ayaz Amir said that he felt that the president should cancel his visit given the circumstances, and instead should combat terrorism and extremism. He added, "I believe that the UN General Assembly annual session is the most useless event in the world where leaders go to listen to their own speeches." However, Zardari did make it to New York for the opening of the new session of the General Assembly.
Due to the attack, British Airways suspended flights to Islamabad as a precautionary measure "until further notice." British Airways did not resume flights until June 2019 a decade later. American schools and universities in Islamabad closed for the rest of that week as well.
Terror pledge
The BBC reported that Pakistan was an important ally of the United States in its "war on terror", but that it had disagreements over tactics and had complained about US raids from Afghanistan. Following an apparent power vacuum as a result of the stepping down of former president Pervez Musharraf earlier in the month, U.S. missile-strikes had increased, culminating in the Baghar Cheena airstrike on 17 September. After the event, president Asif Ali Zardari appealed for "all democratic forces" to help to save Pakistan and he pledged to rid Pakistan of Islamic militants: "Terrorism is a cancer in Pakistan, we are determined, God willing, we will rid the country of this cancer. I promise you that such actions by these cowards will not lower our resolve." Pakistan's chief adviser on internal security, Rehman Malik, said "the authorities would fight on until the last terrorist is cleared. We think that the safe Pakistan, safe Afghanistan is safety for the world and therefore we will not let them have easy way."
Possible perpetrators
A Taliban spokesperson denied the group's involvement in the blast, saying they "do not believe in killing so many locals."
An American intelligence official stated that the attack "bears all the hallmarks of a terrorist operation carried out by Al Qaeda or its associates."
Some investigators suspect another Islamist group, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, was responsible for the attack, based upon the similarities between this incident and four previous attacks allegedly conducted by its operatives.
Dubai-based Arabiya Television says a group calling itself Fedayeen Islam (also spelled Fedayan-i-Islam), variously translated as "Islamic Commandos" or "Islamic Patriots" has called Arabiya's correspondent in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. The correspondent said he received a text message on his mobile phone, showing a telephone number. He said he called the number and then heard a recording in which the group admitted launching Saturday's attack. The Arabiya television correspondent says the speaker spoke in English language with a South Asian accent. The Fedayeen Islam group has issued several demands including for Pakistan to stop its cooperation with the United States.
U.S. airstrike
On 1 January 2009 a missile fired from an unmanned aerial vehicle killed al-Qaeda's chief of operations for Pakistan, Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam, and his aide, Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan. U.S. officials stated that they believed that al-Kini masterminded the hotel bombing.
Legal Issues
Represented by Miami-based attorney Andrew C. Hall and a Maryland attorney, Jonathan A. Azrael, the family of an American killed in the blast sued Marriott for negligence in federal court in Maryland in 2011.
Fund
The "Islamabad Marriott Assistance Fund" was started by the owner of the hotel as the blast and resulting fires killed about 40 hotel staff, including the security guards who had tried to avert the disaster, while scores of other employees were also wounded.
Sadruddin Hashwani said: "We have set up a fund to cater for the future expenses of the families of employees either killed or wounded in the attack." He announced that he would make an initial donation of US$126,000 to the fund, and appealed for people to donate generously.
The Marriott International and The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation also made contributions to the fund, established through United Way to provide financial assistance to the associates and their families affected by the tragedy.
Investigation
A panel that the government had formed, consisting of police officials and experts from security agencies to probe the attack, presented a preliminary report to the Prime Minister. The Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah also admitted to the Senate's Standing Committee on his ministry that the blast was the result of a defective security system. He added that the Islamabad police chief has said intelligence agencies had informed the police about an explosives-laden vehicle entering the city to carry out an attack.
Three suspected terrorists Mohammed Aqeel (possibly Dr. Usman), Rana Ilyas and Hameed Afzal were arrested in Peshawar on 17 October by the Pakistani police with connection to the attack were remanded to police custody for 7 days on 18 October for questioning by an anti-terrorism court. They were suspected of having facilitated the suicide bomber. In requesting the court for a 10-day remand, the police also said they hoped to arrest more suspects with information from the three. Judge Sakhi Muhammad Kahut, who remanded the trio to police custody, also ordered police to produce them in court again on 24 October.
A man by the name of Dr. Usman, possibly the same individual, was involved in the attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team and the raid against the Pakistani Army Headquarters.
Police said that Qari Ishtiaq, who is said to be the commander of Punjabi Tehrik-i-Taliban, was arrested from Bahawalpur on the information provided by the Hijratullah who has been jailed for 10 years due to his role in Lahore police academy attacks. Seven other militants were arrested from different parts of Punjab regions. Four hundred kilograms (880 lb) of explosives were also seized from Qari Ishtiaq.
On 5 May 2010, Mohammed Aqeel, Rana Ilyas, Muhammad Hamid Afzal and Tahseen Ullah were acquitted of all charges as no evidence was ever presented against them.
International reactions
Intergovernmental organizations
European Union President of the European Council and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the European Union will "more than ever stand side by side" with Pakistan's fight against terrorism. High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana said that he condemns in the "strongest possible terms the despicable bomb attack." And that "I wish to convey my sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Pakistani government. My thoughts are also with those who were injured, to whom I wish a prompt recovery."
NATO General Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said: "I condemn in the strongest possible terms the terrorist bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. This grotesque attack, which has caused huge loss of life and great suffering, has no justification whatsoever." He added that "NATO remains committed to working with Pakistan, including the new government, to combat the shared threat of violent extremism."
Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference described the attacks as "despicable terrorist actions completely contradict the praiseworthy precepts of Islam." and called the perpetrators "the enemies of peace whom the international community must fight with all possible means."
United Nations A statement issued by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the bombing as a "heinous" terrorist attack. He expressed his "heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this appalling attack, as well as to the government and people of Pakistan. No cause can justify the indiscriminate targeting of civilians." The United Nations Security Council held a formal 5-minute meeting to condemn the attack and underline "the need to bring the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism to justice".
State entities
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in a statement called for an "honest struggle" to beat terrorism. Adding that "As long as this evil phenomenon is active in the region, terror, horror and explosions will continue."
Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that he was hoping to hold prompt discussions with the Pakistani government about its response to the truck bomb attack and labeled it as a "barbaric attack on innocent civilians".
Bangladesh Foreign adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury condemned the bomb blasts terming the attack a cowardly act of terrorism and describing the act as "heinous." He added "such [an] attack will bring no benefit for the perpetrators. The people of Bangladesh stand by the people and the government of Pakistan at this hour."
Canada Canada condemned the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad which killed at least 60 people and offered its support for the Pakistani government. Canada "condemns the bomb attack ... and the appalling loss of life and injuries it has caused to so many innocent people", read a statement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "The use of violence and terror against innocent civilians must never be tolerated and we condemn those who have perpetrated this terrible act...[Canada] continues to stand beside the government and people of Pakistan in their fight against extremism and terror." Harper said there were no known Canadian casualties, but that authorities are monitoring the situation. "The government and people of Canada extend their deepest sympathies to the families of the dead and injured", the statement read. Liberal party leader Stéphane Dion issued a statement saying "I strongly condemn the terrorist bombing...No cause can justify this kind of brutal attack on innocent civilians. Those who show such disrespect for human life, demonstrate only their own cowardice. The world will not tolerate this kind of assault on the people of Pakistan...My Liberal colleagues and I extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of those who have been killed, and wish those who have been injured a speedy recovery."
People's Republic of China People's Republic of China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu stated: "China opposes terrorism of any kind. As the friendly neighbor and all-weather friend of Pakistan, China will continue to support the unremitting efforts of Pakistan's government and people to maintain stability." China condemned the terrorist attack and expressed condolences and extended sympathies to the victims and bereaved families.
Czech Republic The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Karel Schwarzenberg, informed the family of the Czech ambassador about his death. He sharply condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the victims' families. He said the attack was an attempt to destabilize the situation in Pakistan after the recent presidential elections. He also welcomed the Pakistani government's assurance that the attack won't weaken its resolve to fight the terrorists. Prime minister Mirek Topolánek has also talked to the envoy's family to express his sorrow. In his public statement, he said that "the Czech Republic sharply condemns any kind of terrorist activities." Topolánek added that Pakistan could be heading in the direction of a state like Iran or North Korea. As it owns nuclear weapons, a victory of fundamentalism in the country could destabilize the whole region and affect countries as remote as the Czech Republic. In his letter to the widow and her two sons, president Václav Klaus communicated his sorrow caused by the act and said that the diplomat seemed to be the right man in the right place.
Denmark The Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller says that he understands Pakistanis who compare this attack with the September 11 attacks. He stated that "The terrorists want to install a fanatical Islamic regime. However, Pakistan has nuclear arms and therefore this must not happen".
Egypt Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed Egypt's deepest condolences to the victims' families and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Egypt supports Pakistan in face of violence and terror.
Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the "brutal, inhumane" bombing, saying "The fight against transnational terrorism remains a top priority for affected countries like Pakistan and the international community. Germany will be continuing to support its partner Pakistan in efforts for stability and prosperity." Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier sent a condolence message to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry saying that everything must be done to "discourage support for the terrorists."
India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a letter to Yousuf Raza Gilani, said: "Such attacks are a grim reminder of the challenges we face from destructive forces which have pitted themselves against the values of democracy and pluralism and the voices of moderation. We strongly condemn this act of terrorism. They threaten the peace, stability and development of each of us individually and all of us collectively. We must not allow such forces to succeed. They must be dealt with and brought to justice." Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, "India condemns [sic] such acts of destruction and terrorism in any country of the world."
Indonesia Government spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said that he hoped that the Pakistani government could reveal the case and bring the perpetrators to justice. Adding that "The Indonesian government strongly condemns the bombings in Marriot Hotel in Pakistan. We express a deep condolences to the victims, including Pakistanis and foreign citizens." The Indonesian Islamic Propagation Institute (LDII) Chairman Prasetyo Sunaryo chimed in, saying: "Not only non-Muslims but also Muslims in the country fell victim to the bomb attack. This is fasting month. The perpetrators of the bomb attack must respect it and refrain from committing a crime that claims the lives of other people. The bomb attack is certainly not the act of a Muslim. We, Muslims, must always keep watch for any attempt by foreign parties who try to disrupt harmony among adherents of different faiths. That is why we call on religious adherents in Indonesia to be united so we cannot easily be pitted one against the other."
Iran According to the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs, the extent of the grief inflicted upon the people of Pakistan has gravely saddened the Iranian nation. "Such despicable acts that lead to the death of innocent people destabilize Pakistan. We strongly believe a secure and stable Pakistan would benefit all regional countries."
Italy Foreign Minister Franco Frattini "firmly condemned" the attack saying it underlined the need to "reinforce international collaboration, in particular with the countries of the region" to "wipe out terrorism."
Jordan King Abdullah II condemned the terrorist act in Pakistan and expressed solidarity with families of the victims.
Japan The Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, "We express sympathy for the victims and send condolences to their bereaved families. We also pray for the early recovery of injured. The government of Japan firmly condemns these bombings as inexcusable acts. We pay our respect to and have supported the government of Pakistan which has tackled with war on terror while making enormous sacrifices. We are resolved to continue our support to President Asif Ali Zardari and the government of Pakistan that declared their strong determination not to give way to this act of terrorism."
Kenya Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said, "Clearly, the attacks were not meant for the Kenyan embassy and our citizens are out of danger." He also sent messages of condolences to the people of the country on behalf of his government.
The attack that left the Kenyan embassy in Islamabad damaged. The Permanent Secretary in the Foreign Affairs ministry Mwangi Thuita confirmed the incidence. The blast only shattered windows and doors of the embassy.
Malaysia Foreign Minister Rais Yatim stated his government was deeply shocked and saddened that the bombing was deliberately directed at a civilian target designed to inflict maximum human casualties. He added, "That this senseless act of violence was committed during the holy month of Ramadan has made it all the more reprehensible. It is our hope that the perpetrators of this heinous and despicable crime be brought to justice."
New Zealand Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark said "New Zealand offers its sympathy to the people and government of Pakistan at this sad time. I know this is also a very worrying time for members of the Pakistani community in New Zealand, who fear for their loved ones, friends, and communities at home. New Zealand condemns such acts of terrorism without reservation. They are horrific and cowardly acts causing death and misery to innocent people. New Zealand and Pakistan have a longstanding relationship, through the Commonwealth. We welcomed the restoration of democracy in Pakistan, and its return as a full participant in the Commonwealth family. We recognize, however, that Pakistan has difficult challenges ahead of it. Its problems with internal terrorism, and the insecurity and instability in the border area with Afghanistan, are key concerns for Pakistan and the wider international community."
Norway In a press release the Norwegian Foreign Ministry states: "The government has expressed our empathy towards Pakistani authorities over the loss of so many human lives, and we have asked that this be relayed to the bereaved." The Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre states: "The government condemns the terror attack outside the Marriott Hotel today. There is no excuse for killing innocent civilians and I can do nothing except express my disgust towards those who are behind this act. This is a difficult situation for Pakistan. It is now important to add support to the democratic developments which have been taking place recently."
Philippines Press Secretary Jesus Dureza had condemned the bombings and pledges support to Pakistan despite calls to review its policy of being in the Global War against terrorism. As such, the Philippine National Police has heightened security on hotels and other high-risk targets in the Philippines.
Qatar The Foreign Ministry, in a statement, called it "a terrorist act that contravenes ethical and human values", and expressed "Qatar's condolences to the government and friendly people of Pakistan and families of the victims and the injured."
Russia President Dmitry Medvedev stated: "Resolutely condemning this inhuman act we convey sincere solidarity and support to the people and leaders of Pakistan. I am convinced that the perpetrators of this barbaric act will be found and duly punished. We reaffirm our readiness to deepen interaction with Pakistan in a bilateral format and in the framework of international efforts to deal with the threat of terrorism."
Spain Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero extended his "deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this bloody attack", and expressed his solidarity "in these difficult moments" with the Pakistani people and their government.
South Korea South Korea condemned the bombing in a statement saying that the attack was "an act against humanity that cannot be tolerated under any cause."
Slovakia Press department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying: "Slovakia's Foreign Affairs Ministry re-confirms its support for the Pakistani Government in its efforts to introduce democracy and development, and in its fight against terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism striving to destabilize the country".
Saudi Arabia Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Bin-Awad Asiri said: "We support Pakistan in its ordeal and we condemn this criminal act and denounce its perpetrators. We wonder how a Muslim person would carry out a criminal act in this holy month in this cruel manner."
Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying "Sri Lanka fully supports all comprehensive measures being taken by the government of Pakistan to combat the menace of terrorism. The 'people and the government of Sri Lanka are extremely saddened' and 'share the grief of the Pakistan nation in this hour of acute pain'."
Syria President of Syria Bashar al-Assad condemned the attack in a telegram he sent to Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari. Assad expressed his deep grief and offered his condolences to Zardari, the friendly people of Pakistan and the families of the victims. He also wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Turkey President Abdullah Gül said "I strongly condemn this appalling attack which aimed at spoiling domestic peace. I believe that those who waged this attack will be defeated by the national unity and communal compromise". Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said "On behalf of the Turkish people who have suffered great losses for many years due to terror attacks and my Government, I strongly condemn this abhorrent attack which targets Pakistan's stability and its persistently developing democracy".
United Arab Emirates The foreign ministry said "The UAE strongly condemns this heinous crime, committed by terrorists this evening in Islamabad and led to losses in lives and properties."
United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the suicide bombing in Islamabad and pledged that Britain would do whatever it could to help Pakistan combat terrorism. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that "This latest bombing attack in Islamabad is yet another shocking and disgraceful attack without justification."
United States of America 15 FBI agents have been offered to help in the investigation into the bombing; deployment pending approval of the Pakistani government. United States National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said that the country "strongly condemns the terrorist attack[...] [and we] will stand with Pakistan's democratically elected government as they confront this challenge." In the same vein, President George W. Bush said "This attack is a reminder of the ongoing threat faced by Pakistan, the United States, and all those who stand against violent extremism", and that this attack "is part of a continuing assault on the people of Pakistan." Adding that he promised to "assist Pakistan in confronting this threat and bringing the perpetrators to justice", as well as to support the people of Pakistan "as they face enormous challenges economically as well as from terrorism." The two major presidential candidates also gave statements: Republican John McCain pointed to "violent Islamic extremism" and Democrat Barack Obama said the attack "demonstrates the grave and urgent threat that al-Qaida and its affiliates pose to the United States, to Pakistan, and to the security of all nations."
Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Le Dung strongly condemned the terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences to the state, government and people of Pakistan, as well as the families of victims, especially relatives of Vietnamese national Nguyen Hong Ngoc.
Yemen The Foreign Ministry said that Yemen condemns seriously this terrorist attack, and that this acts as a confirmation that the terrorist network still forms a critical evil threat to security and stability of a number of world countries. The matter requires a boost to security and intelligence cooperation at the regional and international level to confront and end such criminal acts. It also expressed Yemen, its leadership, government and people's condolences to the Pakistani leadership, government and people, and for the victims' families; confirming Yemen's solidarity and its stand with Pakistani government in combating terrorism.
Other non-state entities
Australia Cricket Australia Public affairs manager Peter Young said: "Our reaction is that it's terribly sad and tragic news. Australian cricket has got a lot of friends in Pakistan and I think everyone at the national level is really sorry to hear this sort of continuing news coming out of the place. We enjoy playing against them and we have tours coming up there next year of course. Everyone is praying quite fervently that the domestic situation there settles down so people can live their life in peace and hopefully we can start playing cricket there again." Australian Cricketers' Association president Darren Lehmann said that news of the bombing was shocking. "It's a tragedy over there, and it [would have been] a tragedy if our players and any of the world players were there", he said.
United States Marriott International In a statement on his corporate blog, the CEO of the Marriott group International, Bill Marriott said that, "This senseless tragedy and the profound loss of life has left me greatly saddened. My heart goes out to those who've been injured and the families of the victims.... Currently, our associates who escaped serious injury are doing whatever they can to assist with rescue and recovery efforts. The actions of these associates in Islamabad and their desire and willingness to help in a time of such tremendous tragedy are a true testament to Marriott's culture." and that "We live in a dangerous world and this is a terrible tragedy. We grieve for those people who died, or were injured, and their families..." A statement from the hotel said, "The blast caused extensive damage to the front of the hotel and started a fire. Marriott International and the hotel are working with local authorities and rescue personnel to assist victims. News reports indicate numerous people were killed and injured in the bombing, including the deaths of several hotel security personnel who stopped the truck."
Pakistan Pakistan Cricket Board A senior official told Geo TV: "What happened at the Marriott hotel is a human tragedy and very sad. But I think it shows that Pakistan does face a security situation like many other countries." PCB Director (Media) Sohail added, "We have been saying all along that Pakistan is as safe as any other country as no country is safe from terrorist attacks. But we were prepared...Indeed we face a security situation like many other countries but we were permitted and prepared to provide fool-proof and guaranteed security..."
The Unsolved Death of Jeanette DePalma
Jeannette DePalma (August 3, 1956 – c. August 7, 1972) was an American teenager who is believed to have been murdered sometime on or around August 7, 1972 in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, United States.
The case, currently unsolved, has become a matter of significant controversy, due in part to coverage in Weird NJ magazine and in the 2015 book Death on the Devil's Teeth.
"In 2021 The New York Daily News mentions that the organization, named Justice for Jeannette DePalma", "is dedicated to keeping her memory alive." "The organizers are continuing to look for clues, even as the case approaches the half-century mark."
Discovery of the body
On the afternoon of Monday, August 7, 1972, 16-year-old Jeannette DePalma left her home on Clearview Road in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, telling her mother that she was going to take a train to a friend's house. When she did not arrive at her friend's house or return later that evening, her parents filed a missing person report with the Springfield Police Department the following day.
Six weeks later, on September 19, DePalma's remains were found atop a cliff inside of Springfield's Houdaille Quarry, after a local dog brought her decomposing right forearm and hand back to its owner.
According to several witnesses at the scene, DePalma's skeletal remains were surrounded by a series of strange and possibly occult objects. Descriptions vary, but the most commonly agreed-upon account states that the remains were found inside a coffin-shaped perimeter of fallen branches and logs, and inside this perimeter were several small makeshift wooden crosses. Some Springfield residents later claimed that DePalma's remains were found lying on a pentagram, surrounded by mutilated animal remains. Law enforcement authorities have denied that this was true. Further controversy was aroused when it was discovered that the body had been found on a cliff known to locals for several decades as "the Devil's Teeth".
Investigation
The Springfield Police Department began an investigation of DePalma's death after an autopsy could not reveal a cause of death. Her remains and clothing showed no evidence of bone fractures, bullet wounds, or knife strikes. No drug paraphernalia was found on or around the body. For undisclosed reasons, the coroner suspected that strangulation was the cause of death, leading the Union County Prosecutor's Office to treat the case as an unsolved homicide. The coroner also discovered an unusually high amount of lead in the remains, but no explanation was found for this occurrence either.
Early in the investigation, Springfield police received a tip regarding a homeless man living in the woods near the quarry. This man was known to locals simply as "Red", and it was alleged that he fled his campsite in the woods shortly after DePalma went missing. While this lead initially looked promising, the Union County Prosecutor's Office ultimately decided that "Red" had nothing to do with DePalma's death. Investigators continued to attempt to find leads, but due to a lack of tips from the public, along with inconsistent stories told to the police by her family, friends, and peers, the case eventually went cold.
Allegations of human sacrifice
Around two weeks after the discovery of DePalma's remains, several newspapers, including the Newark Star-Ledger and the New York Daily News, began reporting that she may have been the victim of an occult sacrifice carried out either by Satanists or by a local coven of witches who operated inside nearby Watchung Reservation. This coverage was spurred by reports that the body had been found surrounded by strange objects, and by the theories of James Tate, the pastor of the DePalma family's Assemblies of God church. Rumors about the case set off a panic in several Union County communities, which were still recovering from the shock of the John List murders only ten months earlier.
Aftermath
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Weird NJ magazine began to report on the decades-old cold case after receiving several anonymous letters regarding DePalma's death. Editor and co-founder Mark Moran began investigating the case and wrote about many purportedly suspicious details, including the allegation that Springfield police had lost or destroyed the case file. The Springfield Police Department maintains that the file was lost due to flooding caused by Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Others allege that a copy is still on file.
Moran eventually teamed up with Weird NJ correspondent Jesse P. Pollack to write the book Death on the Devil's Teeth: The Strange Murder That Shocked Suburban New Jersey. Throughout the course of their research, Pollack and Moran discovered several instances of a possible cover-up, connections to other unsolved murders, and previously unknown suspects.
Despite rumors and innuendo offered by Springfield police regarding DePalma possibly dying as the result of a drug overdose, no drug paraphernalia was found on, near, or around her body, and she was not known by friends or family to have used any recreational or prescription drugs other than occasionally smoking marijuana socially. DePalma's autopsy report makes no mention of the possibility of a drug overdose and medical examiner Bernard Ehrenberg went on record stating he suspected strangulation, as he could not rule it out during the autopsy of her remains.
Edward Salzano sued the Union County Prosecutor’s Office to test Jeannette DePalma's clothing for DNA. Salzano was given a box of documents that contained the FBI crime lab report and medical examiners report by John Bancey, Jeannette DePalma's nephew, before he passed away.
The crime lab report states stains found in her underwear, bra, blouse and slacks were "too decomposed for conclusive blood and semen examinations" in 1972.
"Salzano hopes that with today’s improved DNA testing technology" a DNA profile can be obtained from the clothing.
"In 2021 The New York Daily News mentions that the organization, named Justice for Jeannette DePalma", "is dedicated to keeping her memory alive." "The organizers are continuing to look for clues, even as the case approaches the half-century mark."
Jeannette DePalma is mentioned in the book "A Long Walk Home" The book mentions similarities between Jeannette DePalma, Joan Kramer and Carol Ann Farino Killings.
Giant Mine
The Giant Mine was a gold mine located on the Ingraham Trail, 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Giant Mine is within the Kam Group, which is part of the Yellowknife greenstone belt. Gold was discovered on the property and mineral claims staked in 1935 by Johnny Baker, but the true extent of the gold deposits was not known until 1944, when a massive gold-bearing shear zone was uncovered beneath the drift-filled Baker Creek Valley.
History
The discovery led to a massive post-war staking boom in Yellowknife. Giant Mine entered production in 1948 and ceased operations in 2004. It produced over 7,000,000 ozt (220,000 kg) of gold. Owners of the mine have included Falconbridge (1948–1986 through subsidiary Giant Yellowknife Mines Limited), Pamour of Australia (1986–1990 through subsidiary Giant Yellowknife Mines Limited), and Royal Oak Mines (1990–1999). When Royal Oak went bankrupt in 1999 the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) took over responsibility for cleaning up the Giant mine site. Miramar Mining Corporation subsequently entered into an arrangement with the government whereby Miramar held the mine operation in care and maintenance, continued underground dewatering operations, and removed the remaining ore from underground for treatment at the nearby Con Mine process facility (1999–2004) .
According to an article published in The Star in 2006, there were 15 sealed underground storage chambers 250 feet below ground containing a total of 237,000 tonnes (233,000 long tons; 261,000 short tons) of deadly arsenic trioxide dust, containing up to 60% organic and inorganic arsenic. The dust was a byproduct of extracting gold from the mineral and was collected and stored in sealed underground chambers from 1951 to 1999. Prior to legislated collection and underground storage in 1951 arsenic was released directly into the atmosphere during the roasting process. Arsenic trioxide readily dissolves in water; in 2006 underground flooding around Giant Mine's Mill Pond's underground chamber which contained 16,946 tonnes (16,678 long tons; 18,680 short tons) of arsenic trioxide dust threatened to migrate out of the chamber if it was flooded and dump large amounts of arsenic into Yellowknife Bay.
Bombing
On September 18, 1992, at the height of a labour dispute during the tenure of Royal Oak Mines ownership, an explosion in a drift of the mine, 750 ft (230 m) underground, killed nine men riding through a transport tunnel in a man-car. The strikebreakers who lost their lives were Chris Neill, 29, Joe Pandev, 55, Norm Hourie, 53, David Vodnoski, 25, Shane Riggs, 27, and Vern Fullowka, 36. The remaining three men were replacement workers Robert Rowsell, 37, Malcolm Sawler, 38, and Arnold Russell, 41. Mine employee Roger Warren was later convicted of placing the bomb. The strike/lockout ended in 1993, pursuant to an order by the (then) Canada Labour Relations Board. A civil suit also resulted on behalf of the families of the replacement workers killed in the explosion (Fullowka v. Royal Oak Ventures Inc.) In 2008, the nine Giant Mine widows lost their $10-million civil judgment when the Northwest Territories Supreme Court overturned an earlier ruling.
Contamination
Mining operations over five decades have created a massive environmental liability, a problem which the mine's previous owners left to the Government of Canada and Government of the Northwest Territories to sort out. The site's 950 ha (2,300 acres) footprint includes 8 open pits, 4 tailing ponds, 325,000 m3 (11,500,000 cu ft) of contaminated soils, and approximately 100 buildings including a roaster/bag house complex that is highly contaminated with arsenic trioxide dust and fibrous asbestos. The remediation plan proposed by the SRK Consulting Inc. and SENES Consultants Limited, the leading technical advisors since 2000 to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada on the Giant Mine Remediation Project, includes underground issues such as dust that contains arsenic trioxide, and remediation of the surface, water and Baker Creek.
Remediation
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada reported that the "greatest challenge associated with the remediation of Giant Mine" is the safe long term storage 237,000 t (233,000 long tons; 261,000 short tons) of the arsenic trioxide dust, the lethal byproduct of extracting gold from the mineral arsenopyrite ore stored underground. Their top priority for the Giant Mine site remediation is an "effective, long-term management" of arsenic trioxide. Arsenic trioxide dust, which contains approximately 60% arsenic, is highly lethal even in small doses. It is odorless, tasteless and semi water-soluble. The arsenic trioxide dust is stored in 15 stope or rock chambers that have been sealed with concrete approximately 250 feet, 75 meters below the surface.
The taxpayer-funded (c. $900m to about a billion dollars) remediation plan to permanently freeze the underground arsenic trioxide dust chambers was approved by the Canadian federal government in August 2014. According to the federal civil servant in charge of the clean-up, Jane Amphlett, using technology like that used in ice-hockey rinks, coolants will permanently freeze the storage chambers containing the arsenic trioxide dust to keep groundwater seepage out in what is called the "Frozen Block Method."
A Yellowknife community museum is envisioned for part of the former Giant Mine townsite.
In winter 2020 the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) demonstrated outside the site demanding a federal apology, compensation, and a role in the contracts for remediation. They launched their own website which details the story from their point of view.
Film
The events and aftermath of the Giant Mine labour dispute and explosion were dramatized in the 1996 CBC television movie Giant Mine. Additionally the contamination is the topic of the interactive documentary "Shadow of a Giant" by Saskatchewan filmmaker Clark Ferguson who was artist in residence with Western Arctic Moving Pictures (WAMP) in 2013.
November 2015 Paris Attacks
The November 2015 Paris attacks were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15 p.m., three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, during an international football match, after failing to gain entry to the stadium. Another group of attackers then fired on crowded cafés and restaurants in Paris, with one of them also detonating an explosive, killing himself in the process. A third group carried out another mass shooting and took hostages at a rock concert attended by 1,500 people in the Bataclan theater, leading to a stand-off with police. The attackers were either shot or blew themselves up when police raided the theater.
Happening barely a day after similar attacks in Beirut, the attackers killed 130 people, including 90 at the Bataclan theater. Another 416 people were injured, almost 100 critically. Seven of the attackers were also killed. The attacks were the deadliest in France since the Second World War, and the deadliest in the European Union since the Madrid train bombings of 2004. France had been on high alert since the January 2015 attacks on Charlie Hebdo offices and a Jewish supermarket in Paris that killed 17 people.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks (as they had done with the Beirut attacks a day prior), saying that it was retaliation for French airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq. The President of France, François Hollande, said the attacks were an act of war by Islamic State. The attacks were planned in Syria and organized by a terrorist cell based in Belgium. Two of the Paris attackers were Iraqis, but most were born in France or Belgium, and had fought in Syria. Some of the attackers had returned to Europe among the flow of migrants and refugees from Syria.
In response to the attacks, a three-month state of emergency was declared across the country to help fight terrorism, which involved the banning of public demonstrations, and allowing the police to carry out searches without a warrant, put anyone under house arrest without trial, and block websites that encouraged acts of terrorism. On 15 November, France launched the biggest airstrike of Opération Chammal, its part in the bombing campaign against Islamic State. The authorities searched for surviving attackers and accomplices. On 18 November, the suspected lead operative of the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed in a police raid in Saint-Denis, along with two others.
Background
France had been on high alert for terrorism since the Charlie Hebdo shooting and a series of related attacks in January by militants belonging to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and had increased security in anticipation of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, scheduled to be held in Paris at the beginning of December, as well as reinstating border checks a week before the attacks.
Throughout 2015, France witnessed smaller attacks: the February stabbing of three soldiers guarding a Jewish community centre in Nice, the June attempt to blow up a factory in Saint-Quentin Fallavier, and the August shooting and stabbing attack on a passenger train.
The Bataclan theater had been threatened a number of times because of its support for Jewish organizations and Israel. Two Jewish brothers, Pascal and Joël Laloux, owned the Bataclan for more than 40 years before selling it in September 2015. In 2011, a group calling itself Army of Islam told French security services they had planned an attack on the Bataclan because its owners were Jewish.
In the weeks leading up to the Paris attacks, ISIL and its branches had claimed responsibility for several other attacks: the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268 on 31 October and the suicide bombings in Beirut on 12 November.
Intelligence agencies in Turkey and Iraq had reportedly warned of an imminent attack on France months beforehand, but said they never heard back from the French authorities until after the attacks. According to The Irish Times, a senior French security official said they receive this kind of correspondence "every day".
This was one of two terrorist cells sent to Europe by the Islamic State in 2015, the other cell consisting of three Syrians was apprehended by German special forces in Schleswig-Holstein in mid September 2016.
Attacks
Timeline of attacks
13 November:
21:16 – First suicide bombing near the Stade de France.
21:19 – Second suicide bombing near the Stade de France.
21:25 – Shooting at the rue Bichat.
21:32 – Shooting at the rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi.
21:36 – Shooting at the rue de Charonne.
21:40 – Suicide bombing on boulevard Voltaire.
21:40 – Three men enter the Bataclan theater and begin shooting.
21:53 – Third suicide bombing near the Stade de France.
22:00 – Hostages are taken at the Bataclan.
14 November:
00:20 – Security forces enter the Bataclan.
00:58 – French police end the siege on the Bataclan.
All times are CET (UTC+1).
Three groups of men launched six distinct attacks: three suicide bombings in one attack, a fourth suicide bombing in another attack, and shootings at four locations. The shootings were in the vicinity of the rue Alibert, the rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi, the rue de Charonne, the Bataclan theater, and avenue de la République. Three explosions occurred near the Stade de France, another on boulevard Voltaire, and two of the Bataclan shooters also detonated their suicide vests as police ended the standoff. According to the Paris prosecutor, the attackers wore suicide vests that used acetone peroxide as an explosive. French police reports on cellphones recovered from crime scenes suggested the attacks were being coordinated in real time from Brussels, Belgium, the location of origin of the terrorist cell that the Paris attackers were members of.
Stade de France explosions
Three explosions occurred near the country's national sports stadium, the Stade de France, in the suburb of Saint-Denis, resulting in four deaths, including the three suicide bombers. The explosions happened at 21:16, 21:19, and 21:53. At the time, the stadium was hosting an international friendly football match between France and Germany, which President Hollande was attending. The suicide bombers arrived slightly late for the game, and eyewitness reports indicated they did not have tickets, resulting in them being turned away by security guards several times.
The first explosion near the stadium occurred about 20 minutes after the start of the game. The first bomber was prevented from entering the stadium again after a security guard patted him down and found the explosive vest. A few seconds after being turned away, he detonated the vest outside the security gate, killing himself and a bystander. Investigators later surmised that the first suicide bomber had planned to detonate his vest within the stadium, triggering the crowd's panicked exit onto the streets where two other bombers were lying in wait. Three minutes after the first bombing, the second bomber blew himself up outside another security gate. Another 23 minutes after that, the third bomber's vest detonated near the stadium. According to some reports, the location of the third explosion was at a McDonald's restaurant, where over 50 people were injured, seven seriously; others state the bomb detonated some distance away from any discernible target.
Hollande was evacuated from the stadium at half-time, while the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, remained at the stadium. Hollande met with his interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve to co-ordinate a response to the emergency. Two of the explosions were heard on the live televised broadcast of the match; both football coaches were informed by French officials of a developing crisis, but players and fans were kept unaware of it until the game had finished. Hollande, concerned that the safety of the crowd outside the stadium could not be assured if the match was immediately canceled, decided that the game should continue without a public announcement.
Following the game, fans were brought onto the pitch to await evacuation as police monitored all the exits around the venue. Security sources said all three explosions were suicide bombings. The German national football team was advised not to return to their hotel, where there had been a bomb threat earlier in the day, and they spent the night in the stadium on mattresses, along with the French team, who stayed with them in a display of camaraderie.
Restaurant shootings and bombing
The first shootings occurred around 21:25 on the rue Bichat and the rue Alibert, near the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement. Attackers emerged from a rental SEAT León, killed the driver of a car in front of them, and then shot at people outside Le Carillon, a café and bar. Next, they crossed the rue Bichat and shot people inside the restaurant Le Petit Cambodge. According to French police, an eyewitness said one of the gunmen shouted "Allahu Akbar". A total of thirteen people were killed at these locations, and ten others were critically injured. Afterwards, the assailants fled in the SEAT León. Doctors and nurses from the nearby Hôpital Saint-Louis were in Le Carillon when the attacks happened and supplied emergency assistance to the wounded.
At 21:32, the attackers arrived outside Café Bonne Bière, located close to the terrace of the Italian restaurant La Casa Nostra, on the rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi. There, they shouted "Allahu Akbar" again and opened fire on revelers. The Paris prosecutor said five people were killed and eight others were injured. An eyewitness reported seeing a gunman firing short bursts. The assailants then fled again in the SEAT León.
At 21:36, the assailants arrived at the restaurant La Belle Équipe on the rue de Charonne in the 11th arrondissement. There, they fired for several minutes at the outdoor terrace, before returning to the SEAT León and driving away. Twenty-one people were killed, and seven others were left in critical condition. Many of the deceased victims at the targeted restaurants and cafés had been sitting on the outdoor terraces when they were shot.
At 21:40, one of the attackers was dropped off by his accomplices at the boulevard Voltaire in the 11th arrondissement, near the place de la Nation. He sat down at the interior terrace of the Comptoir Voltaire café, wearing a hooded jacket over several layers of clothing. After placing an order, he smiled at patrons and apologized for interrupting their dinner. Then, he detonated his explosive vest, killing himself and injuring fifteen people, one of them seriously.
Bataclan theater massacre
Beginning at around 21:50, a mass shooting and hostage-taking occurred at the Bataclan theater on the boulevard Voltaire in the 11th arrondissement. The American rock band Eagles of Death Metal was playing to an audience of about 1,500 people.
Three dark-clad gunmen armed with Zastava M70 AKM assault rifles had been waiting in a black rental car near the venue for more than an hour. The terrorists were three French natives of Algerian descent: Foued Mohamed-Aggad, age 23; Ismaël Omar Mostefaï, age 29; and Samy Amimour, age 28. As the band was playing their song "Kiss the Devil", the three men got out of the car and opened fire on people outside the venue, killing three. Then, they burst into the concert hall and opened fire on the crowd. Witnesses heard shouts of "Allahu Akbar" as the terrorists opened fire. Initially, the audience mistook the gunfire for pyrotechnics. The band ran offstage and escaped with many of the crew.
Rows of people were mown down by gunfire or were forced to drop to the ground to avoid being shot. Survivors described hundreds of people lying beside and on top of each other in pools of blood, screaming in terror and pain. The gunmen also fired up into the balconies, and dead bodies fell down onto the stalls below. For a few minutes, the hall was plunged into darkness, with only the flashes from the assault rifles as the gunmen kept shooting. The terrorists shouted that they were there because of the French airstrikes against Islamic State. Another witness who was inside the Bataclan heard a gunman say, "This is because of all the harm done by Hollande to Muslims all over the world."
A radio reporter attending the concert described the terrorists as calm and determined and said they reloaded three or four times. Two gunmen attacked the concert hall; one gunman would cover fire while another reloaded, to ensure maximum efficiency. Whenever the gunmen stopped to reload, some of the crowd ran for the emergency exits, scrambling over each other to escape. Some were shot from behind as they fled, and the terrorists laughed as they shot them. Those who reached the emergency exit were shot by the third gunman, who positioned himself there. Other groups of people barricaded themselves in backstage rooms. Some smashed open the ceiling in an upstairs toilet and hid among the rafters under the roof. Those who could not run lay still on the floor pretending to be dead. According to survivors, the terrorists walked among those who were lying down, kicked them, and shot them in the head if there was any sign of life.
An eyewitness reported hearing the gunmen ask amongst themselves where the members of the Eagles of Death Metal were once the gunfire stopped. Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï then went upstairs to the balconies, while Amimour stayed downstairs and fired at people who tried to flee. The Brigade of Research and Intervention (BRI) arrived on the scene at 22:15, soon followed by the elite tactical unit, RAID. At 22:15, the first two responding officers entered the building armed with handguns and encountered Amimour, who was standing on the stage. Amimour died after being shot by the officers and detonating his explosive vest. Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï then fired upon the officers, forcing them to withdraw and wait for backup.
From this point, Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï took about twenty hostages and herded them into a room at the end of an L-shaped corridor located further in the building. They also seized the hostages' mobile phones and attempted to use them to access the Internet, but they were unable to find a signal. Some of the hostages were forced to look down into the hall and out the windows and tell the terrorists what they saw. During this time, Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï fired on police and first responders arriving at the scene.
At 23:30, an elite police squad entered the building. One unit evacuated survivors from downstairs, while another unit went upstairs. They found Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï, who had begun using hostages as human shields. They shouted out to police the number of a hostage's phone. Over the next 50 minutes, they had four phone exchanges with a police negotiator, during which they threatened to execute hostages unless they received a signed paper promising France's departure from Muslim lands. The police assault began at 00:20 and lasted three minutes. Police launched the assault because of reports that Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï had started killing hostages. Police using shields burst open the door to the room and exchanged fire with Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï while managing to pull the hostages one-by-one behind their shields. One terrorist detonated his explosive vest, and the other tried to do the same but was shot.
Ninety people were killed, and hundreds of others were wounded. Almost all of the deceased victims were killed within the first 20 minutes of the attack. All of the hostages were rescued without injury. Police dog teams from the Brigade Cynophile assisted with body removal because of concerns that there could still be live explosives in the theater. Identification and removal of the bodies took 10 hours, a process made difficult because some audience members had left their identity papers in the theater's cloakroom.
Perpetrators
Three groups, comprising three men each, executed the attacks. They wore explosive vests and belts with identical detonators. Seven perpetrators died at the scenes of their attacks. The other two were killed five days later during the Saint-Denis police raid.
On 14 November, ISIL claimed responsibility for the attacks. François Hollande said ISIL organized the attacks with help from inside France. Claimed motives were an ideological objection to Paris as a capital of abomination and perversion, retaliation for airstrikes on ISIL in Syria and Iraq, and the foreign policy of Hollande in relation to Muslims worldwide. Shortly after the attacks, ISIL's media organ, the Al-Hayat Media Group, launched a website on the dark web extolling the organisation and recommending the encrypted instant messaging service Telegram.
Fabien Clain released an audio recording the day before the attacks in which he personally claimed responsibility for the attacks. Clain is known to intelligence services as a veteran jihadist belonging to ISIL, and of French nationality.
Syrian and Egyptian passports were found near the bodies of two of the perpetrators at two attack sites, but Egyptian authorities said the passport belonged to a victim, Aleed Abdel-Razzak, and not one of the perpetrators. By 16 November, the focus of the French and Belgian investigation turned to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the radical jihadist they believed was the leader of the plot. Abaaoud had escaped to Syria after having been suspected in other plots in Belgium and France, including the thwarted 2015 Thalys train attack. Abaaoud had recruited an extensive network of accomplices, including two brothers, Brahim Abdeslam and Salah Abdeslam, to execute terrorist attacks; Abaaoud was killed in the Saint-Denis raid on 18 November.
Most of the Paris attackers were French and Belgian citizens who crossed borders without difficulty, albeit registered as terrorism suspects. Two other attackers were Iraqi. According to the French prime minister, Manuel Valls, several of the perpetrators had exploited Europe's immigration crisis to enter the continent undetected. At least some, including the alleged leader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, had visited Syria and returned radicalized. Jean-Charles Brisard, a French expert on terrorism, called this a change of paradigm, in that returning European citizens were themselves the attackers. The Los Angeles Times reported that more than 3,000 Europeans have traveled to Syria and joined ISIL and other radical groups.
On 30 August 2016, jihadist Abu Mohammad al-Adnani was killed by an American missile and DGSI declared that his death ended the terrorist who had supervised the attacks on Brussels and Paris.
Search for accomplices
Three cars were recovered in Paris after the attacks:
A grey Volkswagen Polo with Belgian license plates abandoned near the Bataclan was hired by a French citizen living in Belgium and contained a parking ticket from the town of Molenbeek.
A SEAT was found in the Paris suburb of Montreuil on 15 November and contained assault rifles.
A Renault Clio hired by Salah Abdeslam was discovered near Montmartre on 11 November and contained assault rifles.
Police described Salah, a 26-year-old Belgian citizen, as dangerous, and warned the public not to approach him. He was arrested on 18 March 2016 during an anti-terrorist raid in the Molenbeek area of Brussels. His brother, Brahim, died in the attacks. Another brother, Mohamed, was detained on 14 November in the Molenbeek area of Brussels and released after several hours of questioning. Mohamed said he did not suspect his siblings of planning anything.
On 14 November, a car was stopped at the Belgium–France border and its three occupants were questioned then released. Three more people were arrested in Molenbeek. Links to the attacks were investigated in an arrest in Germany on 5 November, when police stopped a 51-year-old man from Montenegro and found automatic handguns, hand grenades and explosives in his car.
On 15–16 November, French tactical police units raided over 200 locations in France, arresting 23 people and seizing weapons. Another 104 people were placed under house arrest.
On 17 November, police followed a female cousin of the attacker and ringleader, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, to a block of flats in Saint-Denis where they saw Abaaoud with her. The next day, police raided a flat in Saint-Denis, and Abaaoud was killed in the ensuing gunfight, which lasted several hours. Chakib Akrouh, one of the perpetrators of the restaurant shootings, also died during the raid after detonating an explosive vest. Eight suspected militants were arrested at or near the flat.
On 23 November, an explosive belt was found in a litter bin in the Paris suburb of Montrouge. It may have been discarded by Salah Abdeslam, whose phone records showed that he was in Montrouge on the night of the attacks.
On 24 November, five people in Belgium had been charged on suspicion of their involvement in the Paris attacks, and Belgian prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Mohamed Abrini, a 30-year-old suspected accomplice of Salah Abdeslam. Abrini was subsequently reported to have been arrested on 8 April 2016. He is also suspected of having been involved in the 2016 Brussels bombings.
On 9 December, two ISIL militants accompanying two of the Paris attackers into Europe, all masquerading as migrants, were arrested in Greece weeks before the attacks. In July 2016, a third militant involved was also arrested despite regular activity on Facebook from Belgium. The three militants were part of a unit intended to carry out further attacks on 13 November, but their plans were apparently disrupted by the first two arrests.
Fabien Clain was identified as the person reading the ISIL claim of responsibility. Clain is a French national who served 5 years from 2009 to 2014 in a French prison for recruiting fighters to go to Syria for jihad. Clain has been linked to other executed and planned terror attacks and is seen as a leader of known terrorists.
Jawad Bendaoud was arrested 18 November 2015 for "criminal terrorist association for the purpose of committing violent action", as he provided lodging for Abaaoud, Hasna Aït Boulahcen, and a third man. In September 2017, the prosecuting judge filed for Bendaoud's trial for "concealment of terrorist criminals", a charge with a maximum penalty of six years.
Analysis of tactics
Michael Leiter, former director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center, said the attacks demonstrated a sophistication not seen in a city attack since the 2008 Mumbai attacks and that it would change how the West regards the threat. Further comparisons were made between the Paris and Mumbai attacks. Mumbai Police Joint Commissioner (Law and Order) Deven Bharti pointed out the similarities as having several targets, shooting indiscriminately, and the use of improvised explosive devices. According to Bharti, one key difference was that the Mumbai attacks lasted several days, and the Paris attackers killed themselves as soon as capture seemed imminent. Evidence points to the attackers having regularly used unencrypted communications during the planning of the attack.
Casualties
France 106
Chile 3
Belgium 2
Algeria 2
Portugal 2
Germany 2
Romania 2
Tunisia 2
Spain 1
Egypt 2
Italy 1
Mexico 1
Morocco 1
Sweden 1
United Kingdom 1
United States 1
Venezuela 1
Total 130
The attackers killed 130 victims and injured 416, with 80 to 99 taken to hospital in serious condition. Hours before the attacks, Paris's doctors had practiced a mass shooting emergency response rehearsal. Of the dead, 90 died at the Bataclan theater, 21 at La Belle Équipe,13 at Le Carillon and Le Petit Cambodge, five at Café Bonne Bière and La Casa Nostra, and one at Stade de France.
Among those who died at the Bataclan were a music critic of Les Inrockuptibles, an executive of Mercury Records France, and the merchandise manager of Eagles of Death Metal, the band that was performing. Some people suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including a man who died by suicide two years after the attacks.
Legal
On 8 September 2021, the trial of over 20 men accused of planning and carrying out the attacks began in Paris. The trial was expected to see the testimony of over 1,800 witnesses and victims, include more than 300 lawyers and is expected to last about nine months. The trial is expected to be filmed, however the film will not be released until fifty years after the conclusion of the trial. The trial is housed in a custom-designed chamber within the Palais de Justice and of the 20 accused, fourteen will be tried in person and six are being tried in absentia.
In January 2022 an orthopaedic surgeon at the Georges Pompidou hospital was sued and faces possible misconduct charges after using a survivors X-ray as a NFT (non-fungible token), without consulting her prior. The image was an X-ray of the survivors forearm with a Kalashnikov bullet near the bone, and was listed as an x-ray of a survivor who had lost her boyfriend in the attack.
Responses
Local
As had been the case in January after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the Place de la République became a focal point of mourning, memorial, and tributes. An impromptu memorial also developed near the Bataclan theater. On 15 November, two days after the attacks, a memorial service was held at Notre Dame Cathedral, presided over by the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, with several political and religious figures in attendance.
Muslim organizations in France, such as the Union of Islamic Organizations of France, strongly condemned the attacks in Paris. The attacks affected business at high-profile venues and shopping centres in Paris, and many Parisians were concerned the attacks might lead to a marginalization of Muslims in the city. There was not the same call for solidarity with Islam, as in January, following the attacks. Sales of the French flag, which the French had rarely displayed prior to the attacks, increased dramatically after the attacks.
On 4 December, the Bonne Bière café reopened, adorned by a banner with the defiant slogan "Je suis en terrasse" ("I'm on the Terrace"). A street cleaner told France 24 that the city had removed six truckloads of wilted flowers and several kilograms of candles from memorials placed around this and the other shooting scenes: "We didn't really want to get rid of things, but it feels a bit like a cemetery with all the flowers."
National
Government
President Hollande issued a statement asking the French people to remain strong in the face of the attacks. He also visited the Bataclan theater and vowed to "mercilessly" fight against terrorism. Hollande chaired an emergency meeting of the French Cabinet that night and directed his national security council to meet the next morning. The authorities urged the residents of Paris to stay indoors for their own safety and declared a state of emergency. Hollande canceled his trip to the 2015 G-20 Antalya summit because of the attacks, instead sending Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Finance Minister Michel Sapin as his representatives. On 14 November, Hollande announced three days of national mourning. On 16 November, Hollande convened a special Congress of the French Parliament to address the attack and lay out legislative and diplomatic plans he wanted to take in response to them. These proposals included an extension of the state of emergency for three months, changes to the French constitution, one of which would enable France to protect itself from dual citizens who might pose a risk, and an increase in military attacks against ISIL.
On 4 December 2015, the French government published a guide in form of a cartoon on how to survive a terrorist attack. The guide is to be posted in public places and be available online.
In July 2016 the French government published the report of a commission of inquiry, presided over by Georges Fenech, into possible security failings relating to the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. The report recommended the establishment of a single "national anti-terrorism agency".
In August 2016, minister of the interior Bernard Cazeneuve stated that about 20 radicalized mosques and further than some 80 hate preachers had been expelled from France since 2012.
Military
On 15 November, the French Air Force launched the biggest airstrike of Opération Chammal, its bombing campaign against ISIL, sending 10 aircraft to drop 20 bombs on Raqqa, the city where ISIL is based. On 16 November, the French Air Force carried out more airstrikes on ISIL targets in Raqqa, including a command centre and a training camp. On 18 November 2015, French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle left its home port of Toulon heading towards the eastern Mediterranean to support bombing operations carried out by the international coalition. This decision was taken before the November attacks but was accelerated by the events.
French authorities regularly gave detailed information to US authorities on the whereabouts of high-ranking IS members in the Syria-Iraq zone to be tracked and killed. This cooperation led to American air strikes being able to kill the planners of 13 November 2015 attacks. United States authorities cooperated as they consider that if terrorist attacks hadn't happened in France, they would have happened in the US instead.
Public
Applications to join the French Army, which were around 100–150 per day in 2014, rose to 1,500 in the week following the attacks, higher than the rise to 400 after the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January.
Domestic politics
All major political parties, including Hollande's governing Socialist Party, Marine Le Pen's National Front, and Nicolas Sarkozy's Republicans temporarily suspended their election campaigns for the upcoming French regional elections. There was a nationwide minute of silence at noon which President Hollande and several ministers observed at a ceremony at the Paris Sorbonne University.
On 18 November, Hollande reaffirmed France's commitment to accept 30,000 Syrian refugees over the next two years. This was despite the doubts that the terror attack had sown in people's minds. His announcement drew a standing ovation from a gathering of French mayors.
However, in the election campaign for the regional elections of France, to begin on 6 December 2015, Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right Front National party who was vying to be president of the Nord-Pas de Calais area, was recommending hardline security measures. She was getting a great deal of media attention with her strong anti-immigrant stance and may have been helping to sway public opinion across France. "The influx of migrants must be stopped," Le Pen told the CBC in an interview. Le Pen was doing well in opinion polls as of early December 2015. Since the elections would start only weeks after the Paris attacks, she was thought to be getting dividends from the timing, when the fear of terrorism was still very strong.
European Union
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, rejected calls to rethink the European Union's policy on migration. Dismissing suggestions that open borders led to the attacks, Juncker said he believed that the attacks should be met with a stronger display of liberal values, including internal open borders. European Commission Vice-president Federica Mogherini and EU defence ministers unanimously backed France's request for help in military missions.
The United Kingdom has stated its intent to help France with operations in Syria, while some countries intend to aid France by taking over activities in Africa. Germany announced sending troops to Mali and military trainers to Kurdish forces in Iraq, and has on 4 December voted in favour of deploying aircraft and a frigate in an effort to aid the French forces over Syria.
The attacks prompted European officials to re-evaluate their stance on EU policy toward migrants, especially in light of the ongoing European migrant crisis. Many German officials believed a higher level of scrutiny was needed, and criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while the German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel defended her.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that he would meet with EU ministers to discuss how to deal with terrorism across the European Union. Meeting reports indicated that Schengen area border controls have been tightened for EU citizens entering or leaving, with passport checks and systematic screening against biometric databases.
Poland's European affairs minister designate Konrad Szymański declared that he saw no possibility of enacting the recent EU refugee relocation scheme. The new Prime Minister of Poland, Beata Szydło said she would ask the EU to change its decision on refugee quotas. Szydło said Poland would honour the commitment made by the previous government to accommodate 9,000 refugees.
Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orbán, rejected the concept of mandatory resettlement quotas.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka criticized President Miloš Zeman for supporting anti-Islamic groups and spreading hatred, according to Reuters, whose report added that the Sobotka government had been deporting migrants.
Intelligence review
Shortly after the attacks, intelligence staff in multiple countries began to review electronic surveillance recorded before the attacks. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democratic member of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said he did not know of any intercepted communications that would have provided warning of the attacks.
One source said the French National Police met with German police and intelligence services a month before the attack to discuss suspicions that terrorists were staking out possible targets in France. The exact targets were not known at that time.
Police in Germany stopped a car on 5 November, arrested its driver, and confiscated weapons that may have been connected to the Paris attacks.
Some of the attackers were known to law enforcement officials prior to the attacks, and at least some of the attackers had residences in the Molenbeek area of Brussels, which is noted for its links to extremist activities. A counter-terrorism expert said the fact that the perpetrators were known to authorities suggests that intelligence was "pretty good" but the ability to act on it was lacking. The number of Europeans who have links to Syria makes it difficult for security services to keep track of them all.
On 26 December 2015, "Belgian newspaper De Morgen reported that a police oversight body, known as Committee P," is investigating why prior warnings from a school about the radicalization of one of the attackers, Bilal Hadfi, were not reported to Belgian law enforcement.
On 8 March 2021, Italian police arrested a 36-year-old Algerian man on suspicion of helping authors of the Paris attacks and for belonging to the Islamic State group. It was reported that he had "guaranteed the availability of forged documents" to the Paris attackers.
Security changes
In France
In response to the attacks, France was put under an état d'urgence (state of emergency) for the first time since the 2005 riots, borders were temporarily closed, and 1,500 soldiers were called in to help the police maintain order in Paris. The plan blanc (Île de France) and plan rouge (global), two contingency plans for times of emergency, were immediately activated.
Flights to and from Charles de Gaulle Airport and Orly Airport were mostly unaffected. American Airlines delayed flights to Paris until further notice. Many Paris Métro stations in the 10th and 11th arrondissements were shut down because of the attacks. Uber suspended car hails in Paris after the attacks.
All state schools and universities in Paris remained closed the next day. Sports events in France for the weekend of 14–15 November were postponed or canceled. Disneyland Paris, which had operated every day since opening in 1992, closed its parks as a mark of respect for those who died in the attacks. The Eiffel Tower, a Paris landmark visited by 20,000 people a day, was closed for two days. Other venues that were to remain closed included shops and cinemas. Protests were banned until 19 November, while bands such as U2, Foo Fighters, Motörhead, and Coldplay canceled performances in Paris.
The week after 20 November, Hollande was planning to travel to the US and Russia to discuss greater international co-operation against ISIL.
State of emergency
On 13 November, President Hollande declared the state of emergency.
On 20 November, the Senate in France agreed to extend the current state of emergency by three months; this measure gave police extra powers of detention and arrest intended to increase security, at the expense of some personal liberties. (For effects, see also: 2016 Nice truck attack#Raids and house arrests under state of emergency.) Public demonstrations of environmental activists during COP21, held in Paris from 30 November to 12 December 2015, were prevented from happening under the state of emergency regulations, while others were allowed.
A next time, the state of emergency was extended until the end of July 2016. Further extensions followed after the attack in Nice on 14 July 2016.
Belgium
Belgium immediately on 13 November tightened security along its border with France and increased security checks for people arriving from France.
Starting on 21 November 2015, the government of Belgium imposed a security lockdown on Brussels, including the closure of shops, schools, public transportation, due to information about potential terrorist attacks in the wake of the series of coordinated attacks in Paris. One of the perpetrators of the attack, Belgian-born French national Salah Abdeslam, was thought to be hiding in the city. As a result of warnings of a serious and imminent threat, the terror alert level was raised to the highest level (four) across the Brussels metropolitan area, and people were advised not to congregate publicly, effectively putting the city under lockdown.
International
Cities in the United States took security precautions, especially at sites where large crowds were expected, as well as sports events, concerts, the French embassy and other French government sites. William J. Bratton, the New York City Police Commissioner, said the Paris attacks have changed the way law enforcement deals with security. Singapore raised its national security alert level, stepping up border checks and security across the city-state. Police and military authorities in Manila were placed on full alert in preparation for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.
International reactions
Many heads of state and heads of government, as well as the United Nations, offered messages of condolence and solidarity in the wake of the attacks.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that made it more difficult for Syrian and Iraqi refugees to enter the United States. At least 31 governors of U.S. states declared they would refuse to accept Syrian refugees.
Muslim officials
Muslim heads of state, scholars, imams, leaders and groups condemned the attacks, many before ISIL claimed responsibility. These included the imam who heads the university of Al-Azhar in Egypt; the Supreme council of Religious Scholars in Saudi Arabia; Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and the Ahmadiyya caliph Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad condemned the attacks, but added that France's support for Syrian rebel groups had contributed to the spread of terrorism. France had been a particularly vocal opponent of Assad during the Syrian civil war.
Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam, the major mainstream Islamist rebels against the Syrian regime, both condemned the attacks. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, condemned the attacks, and expressed his solidarity with the French people. Other militant groups also condemned the attacks, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine.
The al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, praised the attacks, saying that even though they viewed ISIL as "dogs of hellfire," they applauded when "infidels" get attacked by ISIL.
Related incidents
Hanover bombing plot
A few days after the attacks, on 17 November, a football friendly set to be played at HDI-Arena in Hanover between Germany (who had just been present at the Stade de France during the Paris attacks) and the Netherlands was canceled and thousands of football fans evacuated from the arena following a bomb threat. The match, having been hailed as a "symbol of freedom" after the Paris attacks, was set to be attended in a show of solidarity with France by German chancellor Angela Merkel, vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, several other German government ministers, as well as Dutch defence minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and health and sport minister Edith Schippers.
According to a French intelligence dossier, five bombings had been prepared to be detonated at or around the stadium by a named five-member terror cell in a series of coordinated bomb attacks. German authorities refused to give more details on findings, with Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere claiming that "some of these answers would alarm the public." While police claimed to not have found any explosives, German newspapers published allegations of a cover-up, which claimed that a paramedic had witnessed explosives hidden in an ambulance at the stadium, before being told by special forces at the scene "to not talk about it." Another newspaper claimed it had been a truck bomb disguised as an ambulance. Three police officers were disciplined for leaking information about alleged bomb finds.
At the same time also in Hanover, the TUI Arena was evacuated before a concert by the band Soehne Mannheims, and a train station was closed off after a suspicious device was found. Later the same evening, two Air France flights headed from the United States to Paris were diverted to Salt Lake City and Halifax, Nova Scotia because of bomb threats. The events followed the previous day, when a football match set to be played in Brussels between Belgium and Spain had also been canceled over security concerns.
2016 Brussels raids
On 15 March 2016, Belgian police carried out a raid on a house in the suburb of Forest in Brussels. A police statement said that the raid was related to the Paris attacks. Four police officers were wounded in the raid, and a manhunt for escaped suspects followed.
On 18 March 2016, there were further raids in the Molenbeek area of Brussels. Two suspects were reportedly injured in one such raid and a third suspect was killed. Five people, one identified as Salah Abdeslam, suspected accomplice in the Paris attacks, were arrested during the raid.
Media depictions
One of the people who was present in the Bataclan theater on 13 November 2015 during the terrorist attacks was a French artist who works under the pseudonym Fred Dewilde. In October 2016, he published a graphic novel about his firsthand experience of these tragic events, named Mon Bataclan. On 6 June 2018, Gédéon and Jules Naudet released the documentary November 13: Attack on Paris.
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