Obama condemns Paris terror attacks an 'attack on all humanity'
US President Barack Obama condemned the “outrageous” terrorist attacks in Paris, and promised the United States stands ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary to the French government and people.
“This was an attack not just on Paris... not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share," Obama said in a statement from the White House briefing room Friday night.
Terrorists killed 153 people in multiple coordinated attacks on Friday in one of the deadliest assaults to hit the French capital since the World War II.
According to French media on Friday night, nearly 120 people, who had been held hostage by gunmen at the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris, were killed by gunmen. Tens of other people were reportedly killed in other attacks across Paris.
The terror attacks came just hours after an interview aired in which Obama boasted about recent successes against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group. "I don't think they're gaining strength," Obama told ABC News' "Good Morning America." "We have contained them."
Obama was briefed on the Paris attacks by counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco, but did not say who might be responsible.
“We don't yet know all the details of what happened,” Obama said. “I'm sure in the days ahead we'll learn more about exactly what happened,”
Obama called French President François Hollande Friday night. "The two leaders pledged to work together, and with nations around the world, to defeat the scourge of terrorism," the White House said in a statement.
"We're going to do whatever it takes to work with the French people and with nations around the world to bring these terrorists to justice and to go after any terrorist networks that go after our people," the president said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry echoed similar comments as Obama, calling the attacks "an assault on our common humanity."
Kerry also said the US Embassy in Paris is “making every effort to account for the welfare of American citizens in the city.”
Police in major US cities have stepped up security in the wake of the Paris attacks. Officials in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia said there was no intelligence indicating any threats, but were taking security precautions.
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