Story highlights
- President Barack Obama on Friday condemned the Paris terror attacks
- "This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share," Obama said
Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama on Friday condemned the Paris terror attacks, calling them an "outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians" and pledging the U.S. government's assistance to France.
"This is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values we share," Obama said in a statement delivered in the White House Briefing Room. "We stand prepared and ready to provide whatever assistance the people of France need to respond."
Obama added, "This is a heartbreaking situation, and obviously those of us here in the United States know what it's like and we've gone through these kinds of episodes ourselves."
Hostages flee concert hall 01:09
Obama declined to speculate on who was responsible for the attacks. Late Friday night, the White House announced Obama spoke with French President Francois Hollande, offering his condolences and reaffirming U.S. support in the investigation.
Vice President Joe Biden offered his "deepest condolences to all those wounded and to the families who lost loved ones in today's terrorist attacks in Paris."
"We are bound by timeless democratic values that the cowardice and perverse ideologues of extremist networks can never match, wherever they are. Such savagery can never threaten who we are. We will respond. We will overcome. We will endure," he said in a statement.
Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
A forensic scientist works near a Paris cafe on Saturday, November 14, following a series of coordinated attacks in Paris the night before that killed scores of people. ISIS has claimed responsibility.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Police are out in force November 14 near La Belle Equipe, one of the sites of the terror attacks.
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Forensic police search for evidence inside the Comptoir Voltaire cafe after the attacks.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Shoes and a bloody shirt lie outside the Bataclan concert hall on November 14. Most of the fatalities occurred at the Bataclan in central Paris.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Security forces evacuate people on Rue Oberkampf near the Bataclan concert hall early on November 14.
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Medics evacuate an injured woman on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire near the Bataclan early on November 14.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Police, firefighters and rescue workers secure the area near the Bataclan concert hall on November 14.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
A man with blood on his shirt talks on the phone on November 14. He is next to the Bataclan theater, where gunmen shot concertgoers and held hostages until police raided the building.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Police officers patrol the area around Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on November 14.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Police officers patrol Paris' Saint-German neighborhood on November 14.
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Victims of the shooting at the Bataclan concert venue in central Paris are evacuated to receive medical treatment on November 14.
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A woman is evacuated from the Bataclan theater early on November 14.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Forensics are working in the street of Paris after the terrorist attack on Friday, November 13. The words "horror," "massacre" and "war" peppered the front pages of the country's newspapers, conveying the shell-shocked mood.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Rescuers evacuate an injured person near the Stade de France, one of several sites of attacks November 13 in Paris. Thousands of fans were watching a soccer match between France and Germany when the attacks occurred.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
A survivor of the terrorist attack in the Bataclan is assisted following terror attacks, November 13. The violence at the Bataclan, which involved a hostage-taking, resulted in the highest number of casualties of all the attacks.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Spectators invade the pitch of the Stade de France stadium after the international friendly soccer match between France and Germany in Saint-Denis.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Spectators embrace each other as they stand on the playing field of the Stade de France stadium at the end of a soccer match between France and Germany in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, on November 13.
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A body, covered by a sheet, is seen on the sidewalk outside the Bataclan theater.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Rescuers evacuate an injured person on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, close to the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris.
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Wounded people are evacuated outside the scene of a hostage situation at the Bataclan theater in Paris on November 13.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
A medic tends to a wounded man following the attacks near the Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
A woman walks past police and firefighters in the Oberkampf area of Paris.
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A riot police officer stands by an ambulance near the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris.
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Wounded people are evacuated outside the Bataclan concert hall.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Police secure the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, following explosions during the soccer match between France and Germany.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
A wounded man is evacuated from the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris.
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Spectators gather on the field of the Stade de France after the attacks. Explosions were heard during the soccer match between France and Germany.
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French security forces rush in as people are evacuated in the area of Rue Bichat in the 10th District of Paris.
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People leave the Stade de France after explosions were heard near the stadium during a soccer match between France and Germany on Friday. Paris Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman told CNN President Francois Hollande was at the match and was evacuated at halftime.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
Victims lay on the pavement outside a Paris restaurant.
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Rescue workers and medics tend to victims at the scene of one of the shootings, a restaurant in the 10th District. Attackers reportedly used AK-47 automatic weapons in separate attacks across Paris, and there were explosions at the Stade de France.
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Photos: Night of terror: Paris attacks
French security forces move people in the area of Rue Bichat in the 10th District. A witness told BFMTV that firefighters were on the scene to treat the injured.
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Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. Embassy in Paris is "making every effort to account for the welfare of American citizens in the city, and in the days ahead we stand ready to provide whatever support the French government may require."
More than 120 people were killed in a series of shootings and explosions that shook the French capital. No group had claimed responsibility for the attacks as of early Friday evening.
