Four hostages being held by a gunman at a supermarket in Paris have been killed during a police operation to free them.
The gunman was also killed.
French nes reports said 15 hostages were freed.
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The man at the centre of this siege has been named by police as Amedy Coulibaly (32) who officials believe is connected to the brothers behind the slaughter of 12 people at the satirical magazine on Wednesday.
Earlier, two people were killed after the gunman seized the hostages.
Earlier the gunman had threatened to kill five hostages being held at the Hypercacher Vincennes if police launched an assault on the cornered Charlie Hebdo attackers Said and Cherif Kouachi holed up in an industrial estate with a hostage in a town around 40kms north of Paris.
Both brothers were shot dead by police this afternoon and one hostage believed to have been held by the Kouachis has been freed.
Several people were wounded when the gunman opened fire in the market this afternoon and were able to flee and get medical care, the official said.
It was not clear whether there were other wounded inside the market, or whether a woman listed as the gunman’s accomplice in a police bulletin was inside with him.
Coulibaly is also said to have been responsible for the killing of a policewoman yesterday in the Parisian suburb of Montrouge.
Officials said when the hostage-taker opened fire in the market he told police who flooded the area: “You know who I am.”
Police issued a photograph of Coulibaly and appealed for help tracking him down as part of the investigation into the “voluntary homicide” in Montrouge. They are also attempting to trace Hayat Boumeddiene, a 26-year-old woman.
A Twitter user called David who said he was in a restaurant near the scene at Porte de Vincennes reported hearing gunshots. He wrote: “Everyone is under the tables. The atmosphere is changing between nervous laughter and the first signs of stress.”
He posted images of armed officers crouched at the side of a car, with the message: “Facing hypercasher.”
Additional reporting agencies