[BREAKING NEWS 11:34 P.M. ET]
Police officers have been shot and wounded during a raid seeking one of the suspects in the Paris terrorist attacks, CNN affiliate BFMTV reports.
The report comes shortly after witnesses reported heavy gunfire and roads blocked by police in the northern Paris suburb of Saint Denis, home of the Stade de France national stadium, site of one of Saturday’s attacks.
[BREAKING NEWS 11:23 P.M. ET]
Two Air France flights headed for Paris — AF55 originating in Washington’s Dulles Airport — and AF65 from Los Angeles — were diverted to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Salt Lake City, respectively, following bomb threats, officials say.
“Several law enforcement agencies are working to determine the nature of the threats which caused the aircraft to divert,” FBI Special Agent Todd Palmer of the Salt Lake City division said.
It is unknown whether the same individual called in the two threats.
No U.S. military aircraft were scrambled in either of the reported Air France incidents, NORAD spokesman Preston Schlachter said.
The validity of the threat is not known at this time, but given the events in Paris Saturday, in which 129 people were killed, officials were taking extra precautions by diverting the flights.
“Diversion of flights are the most draconian response to a bomb threat,” CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem said. “I think right now we take this seriously until we hear some explanation to the validity of the bomb threat.”
ORIGINAL STORY:
A Renault with Belgian plates and a cell phone containing a chilling message were among the focuses Tuesday in the sweeping multinational investigation into last week’s terror attacks in Paris that killed 129 people.
French President Francois Hollande says his country “is at war” after three teams of gun-wielding ISIS suicide bombers hit six busy locations. His military backed up the statement by pounding ISIS targets in Syria with airstrikes. Russia launched airstrikes and cruise missiles there.
Meanwhile, a glimmer of hope for Syria’s civil war, as America’s top diplomat says a ceasefire could be on the horizon.
Here’s the key information at this stage:
The latest
— NEW: As a growing number of U.S. governors said they don’t want Syrian refugees in their states, President Barack Obama fired back.
“I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool for (ISIS) than some of the rhetoric that’s been coming out of here during the course of this debate,” Obama told reporters. Arguments that there should be a religious test before refugees are admitted or that only Syrian Christians should be allowed in are “offensive” and “contrary to American values,” he said.
— NEW: Obama accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of going after the wrong target in Syria, saying Russia has been more focused on propping up President Bashar al-Assad’s regime than on fighting ISIS. “If, in fact, he shifts his focus and the focus of his military to what is the principle threat, which is (ISIS), then that is something that we very much want to see,” Obama said.
— NEW: U.S. intelligence had some information on four of the suspected attackers before the Paris attacks, but they weren’t on any watch lists used to check against traveler manifests, two intelligence officials said. “These people were known to us, known to be involved in terrorist activity, known to be people who needed to be scrutinized,” Senate Select Committee on Intelligence member Sen. James Risch told CNN. “Which exact lists they were on is classified.”
The investigation
— First on CNN: Investigators have recovered multiple cell phones at the scenes of the attacks believed to belong to the attackers, a possible big break that could help unravel the plot and the suspected network behind it, counterterrorism and intelligence officials told CNN’s Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz. According to the officials, at least one phone contained a message, sent some time before the attacks began, to the effect of: OK, we’re ready. French investigators have found encrypted apps on the phones, the officials said. The apps appear to have left no trace of messages or indication of who would have been receiving the messages, according to officials briefed on the French investigation.
— Authorities think there’s a second suspect from the Paris attacks on the run, French Ambassador to the United States Gerard Araud said. As they work to confirm whether that’s the case, police are analyzing a video recorded by a witness that may show that suspect inside a car tied to the attacks, French media reported. The video shows two gunmen inside a black SEAT and perhaps a third individual driving the car, France 2 said.
— For days, investigators have said they’re searching for suspect Salah Abdeslam. They haven’t found him yet. But on Tuesday, French media outlets reported that authorities had found a car he rented. A black Renault Clio with Belgian plates found in Paris’ 18th arrondissement, on the north side of the city, had been rented by Abdeslam, 26, police sources said, according to French media outlets.
— Abdeslam, a French citizen, was the subject of a “routine check” on a motorway in northwest Austria on September 9, said Karl Heinz Grundboeck, spokesman for Austria’s Interior Ministry. The routine check did not result in any further investigation.
— One of the voices heard in an ISIS video claiming responsibility for the attacks is that of Fabien Clain, a French senior ISIS operative, according to a French security source. Clain, who was convicted in 2009 for his involvement in al Qaeda in Iraq recruitment effort, is suspected of having a link with a plot to attack churches in Paris in April and the thwarted attack on the high-speed Amsterdam-to-Paris train in August, European security officials told CNN.
— Les Beguines, a Brussels bar registered to one of the Paris attackers, Ibrahim Abdeslam, was closed for drug-related offenses eight days before the Paris attacks, according to Molenbeek Mayor Francoise Schepmans.
— Prior to the Paris terrorist attacks, France and its allies tried to target Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the prominent ISIS member believed to have planned the attack, a French source close to the investigation said. They were unable to locate him, the source told CNN. Secretary of State John Kerry told CNN he could not confirm the report. Abaaoud is believed by counterterrorism officials to be the likely link between the senior ISIS leadership and the militant group’s operatives in European countries.
— Officials have identified three of the suicide bombers as Frenchmen Samy Amimour, Ismael Omar Mostefai and Bilal Hadfi. The newspaper, Le Monde, reports that Salah’s older brother, Ibrahim, was one of the suicide bombers. Belgian federal prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt said the Abdeslam brothers and Hadfi were known to Belgian authorities before Friday. Hadfi was among those who attacked the Stade de France, officials said.
— Police, issuing a photo, asked for the public’s help identifying one of the suicide bomber who attacked the Stade de France. After the attack at the stadium outside Paris, police found an emergency passport or similar document identifying him as a 25-year-old Syrian using the name Ahmad al Muhammad. Authorities believe the name is fake. A police spokesman said the man in the picture is not French and they don’t know whether he’s from Syria.
The scene in France
— The latest Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine is expected to hit newsstands Wednesday. The cover reads: “They have the weapons. Screw them. We have the champagne!” The magazine’s office was the target of a terror attack in January.
— Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Hollande spoke on the phone and “the two leaders paid special attention to stepping up bilateral and multilateral cooperation to counter international terrorism,” the Kremlin said.
— Hollande will visit Washington next week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.
— French authorities carried out 128 new security raids overnight, officials said. They put 23 people into custody, 104 under house arrest and seized weapons that include a rocket launcher.
Around the globe
— German officials said they haven’t found any explosives or made any arrests at a stadium in Hannover, Germany, which was evacuated just before a friendly match between Germany and the Netherlands. Officials canceled the match after police uncovered “serious plans for explosives,” police official Volker Kluwe told German public broadcaster NDR. German Chancellor Angela Merkel scrubbed plans to attend. Why did they call off the match? French intelligence came in “regarding a radical Islamist living near Hannover, allegedly planning to attack (a) ‘football event,’ ” said Florian Flade, a security analyst and reporter who spoke with German intelligence and security officials.
— A soccer match between Belgium and Spain, scheduled in Brussels, was also canceled for security concerns.
— The France-England soccer friendly kicked off under tight security at Wembley Stadium in London. Players and fans united to sing the French national anthem, followed by a minute of silence. “I’m proud to have been at Wembley tonight as thousands of football fans sang ‘La Marseillaise’ to show solidarity with France,” British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted.
— Earlier Tuesday, Cameron told Parliament he would try to convince lawmakers to approve airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. Presently, the UK is participating only in strikes on Iraq.
— Kerry said a new coalition that includes Iran and Russia “gives us an opportunity to, perhaps, get a ceasefire in place within the next three, four, five weeks,” ending a civil war in Syria that’s been ongoing since 2011.
— The Russian Metrojet plane jet that crashed over the Sinai last month was brought down by a bomb estimated to contain 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosives, the head of the Russian Federal Security Service said. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Russia is offering $50 million for information leading to the arrest of those responsible. Egypt’s government said it would “take into consideration” the Russian findings.
— Ten French warplanes were involved in overnight airstrikes on the ISIS-stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, the Defense Ministry said. Six jets delivered 16 bombs and hit a training center and command center that were part of the ISIS headquarters, the ministry said. Russia also doubled its airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, explaining that it had hit ISIS targets with airstrikes and cruise missiles in Raqqa, Deir Ezzor and Aleppo and Idlib provinces. In total, the minister said, Russia conducted 127 missions targeting 206 terrorist sites.
— More than two dozen U.S. states have said they oppose accepting any refugees from Syria. The State Department said it is taking the governors’ concerns seriously, but it remains “steadfastly committed” to bringing in 10,000 Syrian refugees next year, spokesman Mark Toner said.