ISIS claimed gun and bomb attacks that left at leas 127 people dead in Paris in a statement posted online on Saturday.



It said "eight brothers wearing explosive belts and carrying assault rifles" conducted a "blessed attack on... Crusader France."



The statement, published in both Arabic and French, threatened further attacks against France "as long as it continues its Crusader campaign."



It said the targets of Friday's attacks, which included the national sports stadium and the Bataclan concert hall, "were carefully chosen".



It said France was guilty of "striking Muslims in the caliphate with their aircraft."



France is part of a U.S.-led coalition conducting an air war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, where ISIS declared a caliphate last year after seizing swathes of both countries.



It has carried out air strikes in Iraq for more than a year but extended them to Syria in September.



French President Francois Hollande had already blamed ISIS, calling the coordinated assault an "act of war... committed by a terrorist army, Daesh, against France", using another term for ISIS.

ISIS also released an undated video on Saturday threatening to attack France if bombings of its fighters continue.



The group's foreign media arm, Al-Hayat Media Center, made the threat through a militant who called on French Muslims to carry out attacks.



"As long as you keep bombing you will not live in peace. You will even fear traveling to the market," said the bearded Arabic-speaking militant, flanked by other fighters.





Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:46 - GMT 06:46