November 2015 Paris attacks

===Bataclan theatre massacre===
[[File:Bataclan theater, Paris 3 April 2009.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Bataclan (theatre)|Bataclan theatre]] in 2009]]

Beginning at around 21:50, a [[mass shooting]] and hostage-taking occurred at the Bataclan theatre 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.<ref name="Guardian Bataclan">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/20/bataclan-witnesses-recount-horror-paris-attacks "'It looked like a battlefield': the full story of what happened in the Bataclan"]. ''[[The Guardian]]'', 20 November 2015.</ref>

Three dark-clad gunmen armed with [[Zastava M70]] assault rifles<ref name="AFP summary"/><ref name="bbc18nov">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34827497|title=What happened at the Bataclan?|publisher=BBC News|date=18 November 2015|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701130636/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34827497|archive-date=1 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> had been waiting in a black rental car near the venue for more than an hour.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/><ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/> 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.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/><ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/> Witnesses heard shouts of "[[Takbir|Allahu Akbar]]" as the terrorists opened fire.<ref name="AFP summary">{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/least-120-dead-paris-attacks-investigation-source-pta-013205822.html|title=More than 120 people killed in Paris 'terror' attacks|publisher=Yahoo! News|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=13 November 2015|access-date=14 November 2015|author1=Randolph, Eric|author2=Simon Valmary|name-list-style=amp|archive-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114202028/http://news.yahoo.com/least-120-dead-paris-attacks-investigation-source-pta-013205822.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bbc18nov"/><ref name=Nossiter>{{cite news|last1=Nossiter|first1=Adam|last2=Higgins|first2=Andrew|title='Scene of Carnage' Inside Sold-Out Paris Concert Hall|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/14/world/europe/paris-attacks.html|access-date=14 November 2015|work=The New York Times|date=13 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114091210/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/14/world/europe/paris-attacks.html|archive-date=14 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Initially, the audience mistook the gunfire for [[pyrotechnics]].<ref name="BBCNewsLive">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-34815972|title=Paris attacks updates|publisher=BBC News|date=13–14 November 2015|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528191754/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-34815972|archive-date=28 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/world/europe/paris-terror-attacks-a-display-of-absolute-barbarity.html|title=France Confronts 'Absolute Barbarity'|author1=Andrew Higgins|author2=Milan Schreuer|name-list-style=amp|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 November 2015|access-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115035016/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/world/europe/paris-terror-attacks-a-display-of-absolute-barbarity.html|archive-date=15 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The band ran offstage and escaped with many of the crew.<ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://abc7.com/news/singer-for-eagles-of-death-metal-escapes-paris-attack/1083890/|title=Singer for Eagles of Death Metal escapes Paris attack|publisher=ABC 7 |location=Los Angeles|date=13 November 2015|access-date=13 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114123152/http://abc7.com/news/singer-for-eagles-of-death-metal-escapes-paris-attack/1083890/|archive-date=14 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rows of people were mowed 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.<ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/> 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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Higgins|first=Andrew|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/paris-attacks-live-updates/this-is-because-of-all-the-harm-done-by-hollande-to-muslims|title=This Is Because of all the Harm Done by Hollande to Muslims|work=The New York Times|date=13 November 2015|access-date=13 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114093503/http://www.nytimes.com/live/paris-attacks-live-updates/this-is-because-of-all-the-harm-done-by-hollande-to-muslims/|archive-date=14 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

A radio reporter attending the concert described the terrorists as calm and determined and said they reloaded three or four times.<ref name=Nossiter/> Two gunmen attacked the concert hall; one gunman [[Suppressive fire|covered fire]] while another reloaded, to ensure maximum efficiency.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/> Whenever the gunmen stopped to reload, some of the crowd ran for the emergency exits, scrambling over each other to escape.<ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/> Some were shot from behind as they fled, and the terrorists laughed as they shot them.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/granskning/ug/referens/den-svenske-terroristen|title=Den svenske terroristen|last=Nyheter|first=SVT|work=SVT Nyheter|access-date=5 July 2017|language=sv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528173143/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/granskning/ug/referens/den-svenske-terroristen|archive-date=28 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Those who reached the emergency exit were shot by the third gunman, who positioned himself there.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/> 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.<ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/>

An eyewitness reported hearing the gunmen ask amongst themselves where the members of the Eagles of Death Metal were once the gunfire stopped.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/> Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï then went upstairs to the balconies, while Amimour stayed downstairs and fired at people who tried to flee.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/><ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/> The [[Research and Intervention Brigade|Brigade of Research and Intervention]] (BRI) arrived on the scene at 22:15, soon followed by the elite tactical unit, [[Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence|RAID]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Attentat à Paris: Le récit du sauvetage des otages au Bataclan par la BRI|url=http://www.20minutes.fr/societe/1731987-20151116-attentat-paris-comment-policiers-bri-sauve-otages-bataclan|website=20 Minutes|date=16 November 2015 |access-date=19 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118200534/http://www.20minutes.fr/societe/1731987-20151116-attentat-paris-comment-policiers-bri-sauve-otages-bataclan|archive-date=18 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/><ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/>

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.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/><ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/> During this time, Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï fired on police and other [[first responders]] arriving at the scene.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paris shooting: Several killed and injured after 'Kalashnikov and grenade attacks' across French capital |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11995227/Paris-shooting-Many-feared-dead-live.html |website=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=13 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113212158/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11995227/Paris-shooting-Many-feared-dead-live.html |archive-date=13 November 2015 }}</ref>

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.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/><ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/> The police assault began at 00:20 and lasted three minutes.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Comment la BRI a mené l'assaut au Bataclan|url=http://www.francetvinfo.fr/faits-divers/terrorisme/attaques-du-13-novembre-a-paris/comment-la-bri-a-mene-l-assaut-au-bataclan_1178909.html|website=francetv info|date=17 November 2015|access-date=19 November 2015|language=fr-FR|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118144156/http://www.francetvinfo.fr/faits-divers/terrorisme/attaques-du-13-novembre-a-paris/comment-la-bri-a-mene-l-assaut-au-bataclan_1178909.html|archive-date=18 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Police launched the assault because of reports that Mohamed-Aggad and Mostefaï had started killing hostages.<ref name="AFP summary" /><ref name="Nossiter" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualites/2015/11/13/01001-20151113LIVWWW00406-fusillade-paris-explosions-stade-de-france.php|title=Attaques terroristes à Paris: des dizaines de morts, l'état d'urgence décrété|work=[[Le Figaro]]|date=13 November 2015 |quote=Selon plusieurs sources concordantes, l'assaut est terminé au Bataclan. Selon BFM-TV, deux terroristes auraient été tués.|access-date=14 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114040639/http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualites/2015/11/13/01001-20151113LIVWWW00406-fusillade-paris-explosions-stade-de-france.php|archive-date=14 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Guardian Bataclan"/>

Ninety people were killed, and hundreds of others were wounded.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name="autogenerated2"/> Almost all of the deceased victims were killed within the first 20 minutes of the attack.<ref name=CNN.InsideStory/> All of the hostages were rescued without injury.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34889539|title=Paris attacks: Bataclan hostage held for hours by attackers|work=BBC News}}</ref> [[Police dog]] teams from the Brigade Cynophile assisted with body removal because of concerns that there could still be live explosives in the theatre.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|title=The Dog Lover Unit: Lessons in Courage From the World's K9 Cops|last=Rose|first=Rachel|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|year=2017|isbn=978-1-250-11074-9|location=New York|pages=237–238|oclc=967029672}}</ref> Identification and removal of the bodies took 10 hours, a process made difficult because some audience members had left their identity papers in the theatre's cloakroom.<ref name="Fansten14Nov">{{cite news|work=Libération|title=Attentats: le pire des scénarios|url=http://www.liberation.fr/france/2015/11/14/le-pire-des-scenarios_1413500|first1=Emmanuel|last1=Fansten|first2=Willy|last2=Le Devin|date=14 November 2015|access-date=19 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120101310/http://www.liberation.fr/france/2015/11/14/le-pire-des-scenarios_1413500|archive-date=20 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>