A car exploded outside a synagogue near Paris just hours after Islamist terrorists murdered twelve people in a gun assault on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Initial reports were unclear as to whether the cause of the explosion was a bomb, with some correspondents suggesting that the blast was the result of a mechanical failure.

The explosion, in the mixed Muslim-Jewish suburb of Sarcelles – the site of violent anti-Semitic demonstrations last summer, during the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas – took place at approximately 2:30 pm local time.

Sarcelles Mayor Francois Pupponi said that the car explosion was an “accidental, unrelated incident” not connected to the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

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French Jewish news outlet JSS News reported that an initial police assessment concluded that the explosion was an accident. However, JSS also pointed out that the car was parked by a roundabout where “it is strictly forbidden to stop.” The paper also questioned whether a mechanical fault could have caused such an intense explosion.

This story will be updated as further reports come in.