The extremist group Islamic State claimed responsibility Saturday for Friday night’s bombings and mass shootings in this shell-shocked city, an extraordinary string of assaults that killed more than 120 people and that French President Francois Hollande called “an act of war.”
As residents tried to absorb the enormity of the deadliest terrorist attack to hit France, authorities scrambled to determine who the assailants and their associates were, and braced for questions as to whether an intelligence failure contributed to the catastrophe.
The apparently coordinated attacks targeted people enjoying a Friday night out at restaurants and entertainment venues around Paris, including a concert hall and a sports arena. Islamic State said it struck “carefully chosen locations in the heart of the capital of France” in retaliation for French airstrikes on territory it controls in the Middle East.
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