Investigations in the Paris attacks have led to arrests in both France and Belgium. The French are talking of war as President Hollande has vowed to annihilate the Islamic State.
French and Belgian police have begun to close in on the identities of the eight bombers who attacked Paris on Friday, leaving 129 dead and 352 wounded. As of Sunday morning, French police investigators have managed to identify 103 of the 129 dead. Seven of the terrorists were killed in the Friday attacks but French authorities had originally reported eight attackers. This is leading investigators to believe that there may be accomplices and even a world wide network in play.
Clues and leads have been coming in from all over as French police found three AK-47’s in an abandoned vehicle on Saturday in a Paris suburb. They believe the rifles are somehow linked to the attacks, according to CNN. There have also been numerous reports surfacing that the Islamic State has been making good on their threat to insert agents and operatives into the sea of refugees that is overwhelming the continent of Europe.
One of the attackers was killed at the football stadium and has been identified as Syrian in origin. He has been traced back to having entered into Greece in early October and then making his way to Paris. There seems to be, authorities believe, experienced and battle hardened fighters coming in with the waves of migrants.
Another of the bombers has been identified as a French citizen with a lengthy criminal record. He was involved with the nightclub murders and hostage taking and was killed by police in a shootout at the club. It has been reported that 87 people were murdered at the nightclub when gunmen armed with AK-47s open fired on the throng of 1,500 who had gathered for a concert.
On Saturday, Belgian police arrested five people in Brussels in connection with the attack. Belgian authorities are considering these five as part of a network. The raids in Belgium began after French police told Belgian police that an abandoned car was found outside the nightclub with Belgian plates. Some of the attackers that were arrested were well known to the Belgian intelligence services.
French President Francois Hollande declared a state of emergency around the country as well as three days of mourning. He considers the attacks an act of war by the Islamic State and vows to step up their coalition efforts in Syria against them.
