PARIS: An armed man, who took an unidentified number of hostages at a post office northwest of Paris, has been arrested by police.

No casualties were reported in the incident and all the hostages have been freed, according to local police.

The man was equipped with a military weapon had taken an unconfirmed number of hostages at the post office in the town of Colombes, not far outside the capital, French media reported earlier.

"I cannot confirm or deny whether it is linked to terrorism," the official said declining to give further details.

BFM TV, citing an unidentified source, said the hostage taking was not related to last week's attacks in Paris.

French police arrested 12 people earlier on Friday suspected of helping militant Islamist gunmen in last week's killings in Paris. There have been numerous false alerts across the city since the attacks.

(With inputs from agencies)

Read this in Hindi: पैरिस बंधक संकट खत्म, बंदूकधारी अरेस्ट