Emergency cabinet meeting to discuss Paris attack response

A portion of the ruling Dutch cabinet will hold an emergency meeting on Saturday morning to discuss the terrorist attacks in Paris that took place a night earlier. A series of shootings and bombings amid the bustling Parisian nightlife led to the deaths of 128 people, with 99 people listed in critical condition on Saturday. Eight attackers died during the barrage of violence. It is believed seven killed themselves using explosive vests, and one was shot dead by police before his vest also blew up. Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Deputy Prime Minister Lodewijk Asscher were scheduled to attend, along with Ard van der Steur from Security and Justice, Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders and Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk, reported newswire ANP. It is believed the ministers will receive briefings from the office of the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism, as well as the civilian intelligence agency AIVD. A media briefing was expected to follow the 11:30 a.m. meeting. Following the attacks, both Rutte and Koenders issued statements expressing their shock, and pledging support to France. It is not known if the briefing will prompt immediate changes to security operations in the Netherlands. The terrorist threat level in the Netherlands was listed as “substantial,” the government stated earlier in the week. The threat assessment determined there is an actual risk of attack on Dutch soil, but no evidence existed of an imminent act of terror.