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Striding towards him across the courtyard, a man dressed in combat clothing carried a Kalashnikov rifle and a rocket launcher slung over his shoulder.

Within minutes the businessman had been taken hostage in his own building by two of the most wanted men in the world, as thousands of armed police closed in.

Mr. Catalano gave an incredible account Saturday of the two terrifying hours he spent in the company of Said and Cherif Kouachi as they made their final, bloody stand.

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Meanwhile, France’s defence minister said Monday the country is mobilizing 10,000 troops to protect the population. Jean-Yves Le Drian said the deployment will be fully in place by Tuesday, and will focus on the most sensitive locations.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 4,700 security forces would be assigned to protect France’s 717 Jewish schools.

The common-law wife of one of the attackers crossed into Syria on Thursday, the day after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, and the same day her husband shot a policewoman to death on the outskirts of Paris, according to Turkey’s foreign minister.

Mevlut Cavusoglu told the state-run Anadolu Agency on Monday that Hayat Boumedienne arrived in Turkey from Madrid on Jan. 2, ahead of the attacks and stayed at a hotel in Istanbul with another person before crossing into Syria on Thursday.

Video emerged on Sunday of her husband, Amedy Coulibaly, explaining how the attacks would unfold. Police want to find the person who shot and posted the video which was edited after the attacks were over.