French police stormed a printing plant north of Paris on Friday, freeing a hostage and killing two brothers linked to al-Qaida who were suspected of slaying 12 people at a Paris newspaper two days ago.
Police union representative Christophe Crepin, said it appeared that the gunman who took hostages at a kosher market had also died in a nearly simultaneous raid there. At least four hostages are believed to be dead, according to Reuters.
AP Photo/Francois MoriPolice officers and rescue workers gather after police stormed a kosher grocery store where a gunman held serveal hostages, in Paris, Friday Jan. 9, 2015. The assault came moments after a similar raid on the building where two brothers suspected in the Charlie Hebdo newspaper massacre were cornered.
Two groups of terrorists had seized hostages at separate locations around the French capital Friday, facing off against thousands of French security forces as the city shut down a famed Jewish neighbourhood and scrambled to protect residents and tourists from further attacks.
Smoke rose from buildings and explosions could be heard in Dammartin-en-Goele, about 26 miles north-east of central Paris. Special forces had earlier sealed off the town and encircled the building where authorities believe the brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi have fled.
FRENCH POLICE
Amedy Coulibaly, suspected of being involved in the killing of a policewoman in Montrouge on Thursday. Coulibaly is also suspected to have taken a hostage at a kosher grocery store on Friday.
Before the police rushed in, an official said the gunman in Paris threatened to kill the hostages if police launch an assault on the cornered brothers suspected in the massacre.
The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the dual hostage situations, described the events as “clearly linked.”
The gunman in Paris has been identified by police as Amedy Coulibaly — a suspect in the murder of a policewoman Thursday.
He took at least five hostages and wounded several in the Hyper Cacher store near the Porte de Vincennes in eastern Paris.
Two people have been killed so far, Agence France-Presse said, citing police sources. An official told the Associated Press Coulibaly was armed with an automatic rifle and some hostages have been gravely wounded.
As the man opened fire in the market he declared “you know who I am,” the police official said.