Paris attacks: First 'killing machine' identified as French radical, Syrian passport found on suicide bomber

Details are emerging from witnesses and authorities on the identity of the attackers that massacred more than 120 people in a spree of coordinated shootings and bombings in Paris. Detectives have identified the first of eight suspects that were killed in the aftermaths of what French President François Hollande described as an "act of war committed by a terrorist army", French media reported.

Foreign passports, one Syrian and one Egyptian, have also been found on the bodies of another two suspects. At least 128 people were killed and more than 250 people injured, including almost 100 critically, in attacks at six different locations in the capital on 13 November.

Security sources told local media they used fingerprints to identify one of four gunmen that died during a hostage siege at the Bataclan concert hall. The suspect, who has not been named, is reported to be a French national in his 30s, previously known to authorities for holding radical views that landed him on a terrorism-related watch list, iTele broadcaster reported.

The unnamed man stormed the concert hall with three accomplices, during a sold-out gig by US band Eagles of Death Metal and opened fire on the audience, killing more than 80 people.

As police raided the premises three attackers blew themselves up, and a fourth was shot dead. Detectives said audio recordings from inside the theatre revealed all the attackers spoke French fluently, BFM TV reported.

'Killing machine'

Julien Pearce, a reporter for Europe 1 radio who was at the Bataclan and survived the carnage, said the gunmen were armed with Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles, were very young and determined.

"I saw their faces. The nearest to me was very young, barely in his 20s perhaps. He had the beginning of a beard and an empty stare," he said. "He was like a killing machine. He was finishing off people methodically, even those who were begging him to spare them."

The mother-in-law of another survivor said she believed a woman was also part of the terrorist attackers.

Sylvain, a 38-year-old concert-goer, who escaped the siege at the Bataclan, told AP: "I was watching the concert in the pit, in the midst of the mass of the audience. First I heard explosions, and I thought it was firecrackers.

"Very soon I smelled powder, and I understood what was happening. There were shots everywhere, in waves. I lay down on the floor. I saw at least two shooters, but I heard others talk. They cried, 'It's Hollande's fault.' I heard one of the shooters shout, 'Allahu Akbar,'" he added.

Hollande has blamed the Islamic State (IS) for the killing spree, that he said was planned outside the country and executed with help from accomplices inside France. IS later claimed responsibility for the attacks in an online statement.

Early evidence suggested people from outside France took part in the bomb attack at the Stade de France. A Syrian and an Egyptian passport were found near the bodies of two of three suspects who detonated suicide vests near the stadium, during a football friendly France and Germany, according to security sources. The investigation continues.

Update:

Belgian police have arrested a man in connection with the attacks in Paris during a raid in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, local RTL television reported.