Four Hours Of Terror In Paris: How The Attacks Unfolded

Paris: Seven Islamic State jihadists carried out the worst attacks ever on French soil, sowing terror at six locations in Paris in a rampage on Friday night that left at least 129 people dead.

Following is a timeline of the four hours of carnage:

Gunfire, explosions rock the night

• FRIDAY EVENING: Gunfire and explosions erupt nearly simultaneously in several parts of Paris.
• Between 9:00 and 9:15 pm (2000 GMT and 2015 GMT): Three explosions rock the Stade de France national stadium near the French capital during a football friendly between France and Germany attended by around 80,000 fans. One civilian is killed as well as three suicide bombers.
• At 9:29 pm, a tweet goes out: "gunfire at Paris10 Bichat", the street in the eastern 10th district where a Cambodian restaurant is located. Fourteen diners are shot dead.
• At 9:38 pm, another tweet: "very worrying noises" at the Rue de Charonne in the 11th district. The shooting lasts two or three minutes, witnesses say. Eighteen people are killed.
• At 9:49 pm, a tweet reports "many, many gunshots at the Bataclan", where a concert by US group Eagles of Death Metal is in full swing. Several hooded gunmen open fire in the hall shouting "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest). They take scores of fans hostage.
• In the Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, near the Place de la Republique, five people are shot dead outside a pizza restaurant, La Casa Nostra.
• At the other end of the vast square, on the Boulevard Voltaire, another person is killed, as well as an attacker.

State of emergency

• 10:30 pm: President Francois Hollande, after being evacuated from the Stade de France where he was watching the football match, rushes to the interior ministry.
• Anti-terror prosecutors launch an investigation.
• 11:43 pm: Death toll rises to 35.
• Paris hospitals implement crisis procedures.
• SATURDAY 12:01 am: Hollande announces "several dozen killed, many wounded", declares a state of emergency.
• 12:15 am: A cabinet meeting is held at the president's office.
• 12:30 am: Armed police storm the Bataclan. At least 82 people are dead inside the venue. Four of the assailants are killed, three by detonating their own explosives belts.

Security measures

• Hollande and several ministers go to the Bataclan. The president says France will mount a fight "without mercy" against the jihadists.
• His office announces the deployment of 1,500 additional soldiers and says checks will be imposed at France's borders, but they will not be closed.

National mourning

• 9:00 am: Paris is far quieter than a normal Saturday as residents heed warnings from the night before to stay inside. A meeting of the Defence Council takes place at the president's office. Sporting events are called off and tourist venues are closed. City facilities including schools, museums, libraries, sports halls, food markets and district town halls are closed.
• Police make a national appeal for witnesses to the attacks.
• 10:50 am: Hollande calls the attacks an "act of war" and blames the Islamic State group. He announces three days of national mourning.
• Islamic State claims responsibility for the attacks, saying they were in revenge for French air strikes on IS targets in Syria. France is a "Crusader", the group says in a statement and promises more attacks unless Paris stops its military intervention in Syria.
• Paris police ban public demonstrations in and around the city until Thursday.
• 5:30 pm: Police say a Syrian passport has been found near the Bataclan. A Greek government minister, Nikos Toskas, says it belonged to an asylum seeker who registered on a Greek island in October.
• Paris's prosecutor says the toll has soared to at least 129 and could rise futher still.
• Transport links return to normal in Paris.
• Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says the UN climate conference will go ahead as planned near Paris later this month.