PARIS (AP) — The latest on shootings and explosions in Paris. (All times local):
1:25 p.m.
Prime Minister David Cameron is warning his nation to brace for casualties from the attacks in Paris, but he has left the nation’s terror alert warning unchanged.
The British leader says the country must be prepared for a number of British casualties from the Paris atrocity. He condemned the brutal and callous murderers.
Cameron said Saturday that the terror threat level in the UK would remain at severe, — the second-highest level — but that authorities would review plans amid an evolving threat from Islamic state.
In a message of solidarity to the people of France he said: Your values are our values, your pain is our pain, your fight is our fight.
___
1:15 p.m.
Parisians are lining up for hours to give blood, piling flowers and notes and spilling tears outside a music hall where scores of people were killed by rampaging suicide bombers who shattered the peace of the French capital.
Though deeply shaken, many residents of the hip neighborhood in eastern Paris tried Saturday to find a way to help the some 200 people wounded in a string of attacks Friday night on the concert hall, crowded cafes and a stadium.
Long lines of blood donors snaked out of the St. Louis Hospital near the site of the bloodshed.
Near the Bataclan concert hall, people who lost loved ones and those who didn’t came to pay their respects. The attackers stormed the Bataclan the night of a concert by American band Eagles of Death Metal.
For the angels of rock ‘n’ roll, read one note.
For all the friends that I knew, and those I didn’t know. For life, read another.
___
1:10 p.m.
Italy’s top security official says security has been heightened in the country and along its borders, especially with France, following the attacks in Paris.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told reporters after meeting with Premier Matteo Renzi and other top security and intelligence officials that the country had raised its alert level to the second highest, allowing for rapid deployment of special forces if necessary.
Alfano says no country is free from risk and that a great democracy like Italy needs to be ready for any event.
Alfano says 700 soldiers were being deployed immediately to Rome as a deterrent. And he sats additional security measures will be taken into consideration for the upcoming Jubilee year declared by Pope Francis that is expected to bring millions to Rome beginning Dec. 8.
___
1:00 p.m.
Two French police officials say a Syrian passport was found on the body of one of the suicide bombers who targeted France’s national soccer stadium.
French President Francois Hollande said the Islamic State group orchestrated the attacks, and IS claimed responsibility.
The identities and nationalities of the attackers have not been released. At least 127 people were killed and about 200 wounded in the attacks.
The police officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to be publicly named.
___
12:40 p.m.
The president of the International Olympic Committee says the terrorist attacks in Paris are an attack on humanity and all humanitarian and Olympic values.
Thomas Bach adds in a statement: Today all people of goodwill will say: We are all French.
___
12:30 p.m.
A community leader from Paris’ working-class suburbs says he fears a tsunami of hatred may await Muslims and residents of poor neighborhoods following the deadly terror attacks.
Nadir Kahia of the Banlieue Plus community association says its members are shocked and feel a sense of solidarity but we know … some Muslims and poor neighborhoods will be subjected to hate speech.
Kahia also called Saturday for unity of French people and efforts to calm tensions in a text message to The Associated Press.
It came as French President Francois Hollande said at least 127 people died in Friday night’s rampage of shootings at Paris cafes, suicide bombings near France’s national stadium and a slaughter inside a concert hall. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility.
___
12:20 p.m.
British police say the north terminal at Gatwick Airport is being evacuated as a precaution after authorities found a suspicious article.
Police described the evacuation Saturday as a precaution, but the incident comes at a time of heightened concern in Britain in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Paris. Police have announced additional security at ports and big events in light of the attacks.
Gatwick is Britain’s second busiest airport.
___
12:05 p.m.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for attacks in Paris that killed over 120 people.
The claim was made in a statement in Arabic and French released online Saturday and circulated by supporters of the group. It was not immediately possible to confirm the authenticity of the statement, but it bore the group’s logo and resembled previous statements issued by the group.
French President Francois Hollande had earlier blamed the attacks on the IS group, calling it an act of war and vowing to strike back.
___
11:50 a.m.
The German government has ordered flags on official buildings lowered to half-mast Saturday as a sign of solidarity and sorrow over the attacks in Paris.
Flowers, candles and messages of condolence have meanwhile been placed outside the French embassy in Berlin. A vigil was planned there early Saturday afternoon.
Read full article on Associated press
