The Charlie Hebdo massacre suspects have been killed and a hostage freed in the assault on the warehouse in Dammartin by the French GIGN, police have confirmed.

Gunfire and explosions were heard from the warehouse where the Charlie Hebdo massacre suspects had barricaded themselves with a hostage as the GIGN – the French counter-terrorism unit – began an assault that was triggered by the gunfire of the suspects themselves, AP said.

And AFP reported a source saying that the suspects had been killed and the hostage freed. A police source also said that the hostage-taker in the east of Paris had been killed.


BREAKING: Police official: Suspects in Charlie Hebdo massacre killed, hostage freed. — The Associated Press (@AP) January 9, 2015

AFP reports that one police officer was injured in the assault on the Dammartin-en-Goele Printworks warehouse.



Brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, 34 and 32, the two main suspects in the terror attack, were holed up in the warehouse in Dammartin-en-Goele.

Men can be seen on the roof of the building (Picture: BBC)

Gunfire was heard from inside the building (Picture: BBC)

Police units in front of the printing company pic.twitter.com/IOvwEuJRgX — Conflict News (@rConflictNews) January 9, 2015

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Members of the French gendarmerie intervention forces arrive at the scene of a hostage taking at an industrial zone in Dammartin-en-Goele (Picture: Reuters)

Schools – one of which is just a few hundred metres from the scene – are on lockdown in the area with children being kept inside.

Heavy gunfire rang out this morning after the two suspects’ hiding place was discovered in the French town of Montagny Sainte Felicite, 30 miles north east of Paris. Two people were reportedly seriously injured as gunfire was exchanged and the pair stole a Peugeot and drove off.

Initial reports suggested one person had been killed – but the French prosecutor later said this was untrue.

Members of the GIGN (National Gendarmerie Intervention Group) sit in a helicopter flying over Dammartin-en-Goele where a hostage-taking was underway after police hunting the Islamist brothers who killed 12 people earlier this week exchanged fire with two men during a car chase, on January 9, 2015 (Picture: AFP PHOTO)

Warehouse the pair are believed to be inside (Picture: Sky news)

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve separately confirmed a police operation was underway in the town, some 40 km (25 miles) from the site of where police had been hunting the two suspects on Thursday.

Paris-born brothers Chérif (left) and Saïd Kouachi have been known to French intelligence

A car was stolen and there is believed to have been a police chase on the N2 motorway in northeast France, on the outskirts of Paris, before the two men barricaded themselves in to a commercial property.

A French police convoy and helicopters are rushing to the scene of the operation to detain the Charlie Hebdo shooting suspects.

Georges Brenier, RTL journalist, said: ‘There is at least one dead and several injured after being hit by numerous bullets.’

The whole town is now completely sealed of and people were being told not to leave their homes.

One resident said: ‘I work at Kuehne Nagel warehouse in the industrial area. About half an hour ago I heard shots and within five minutes there was all this security, helicopters, police.’

‘We were prohibited from going near the windows and told to stay inside the warehouse. There is nobody going in or out.’

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