Here is a timeline of the deadly attacks and their aftermath.

— 1:20am on Saturday (Pakistan time): Simultaneous shootings and explosions take place across Paris.

— Three explosions take place near the Stade de France football stadium during a friendly match between France and Germany attended by 80,000 spectators, including French President Francois Hollande.

— In the city’s 10th district 12 people are killed on the terrace of the restaurant Le Petit Cambodge.

— On rue de Charonne, in the 11th district, 18 people are killed in gunfire which witnesses say lasted “two, three minutes”.

— At the Bataclan concert hall, where US group ‘Eagles of Death Metal’ is performing, several armed men fire on the audience and take hostages.

— In the 11th district near Place de la Republique, five people are killed on the terrace of a pizzeria, La Casa Nostra.

— An attack in which one is killed also takes place on the other side of Place de la Republique. A suicide bomber is killed.

— 2:30am: French President Francois Hollande, evacuated from the Stade de France, goes to the interior ministry to monitor the situation.

— The police say that at least 18 have been killed.

— Several metro stations are closed by the police.

— 3:50am: Paris hospitals go into emergency mode.

— 4:01am: Hollande declares a state of emergency.

— 4:30am: Police storm the Bataclan, ending their operation 30 minutes later. At least 82 people are killed in the concert hall attack. The four attackers are killed. Three die after activating their suicide vests and the fourth is shot dead.

— Hollande visits the Bataclan, where he vows to lead a “merciless” fight against terrorists.

— France deploys an additional 1,500 soldiers to Paris.

— The presidency says that border controls will be reinstated but the borders will remain open.

— Death toll is updated to at least 120.

— 12:30pm: According to investigators, eight attackers were killed, of whom seven blew themselves up.

— Schools, markets, museums and major tourist sites in the Paris area are closed and sporting fixtures cancelled.

— 2:50pm: Hollande calls the attacks “an act of war... committed by a terrorist army [the self-styled Islamic State (IS), also known by its Arabic acronym ‘Daesh’] against France, against... what we are, a free country”. He declares three days of mourning.

—The IS claims responsibility for the attacks.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2015