A major manhunt has been launched for three gunmen who
shot dead 12 people at the Paris office of the French satirical
magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Eight journalists, including the magazine's editor, and two
policemen were among the dead. Police have named the
suspects, who include two brothers.
A police operation is under way in Reims, north-east of Paris.
Protests over the attack, the deadliest the country has seen in
decades, are being held across France.
President Francois Hollande called it a "cowardly murder" and
declared a day of national mourning on Thursday.
He said the country's tradition of free speech had been
attacked and called on all French people to stand together.
"Our best weapon is our unity," Mr Hollande said in a televised
address late on Wednesday.
Security has been stepped up across France in the wake of the
attack, with Paris placed on the highest alert.
The three suspects have been named in a police document
circulated to regional forces as Hamyd Mourad and brothers
Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi.
Media reports described Cherif Kouachi as a militant
sentenced in 2008 to three years in prison for belonging to a
group sending jihadist fighters to Iraq.
BBC Paris correspondent Lucy Williamson says there are
separate reports of police operations taking place outside the
capital and in the eastern city of Reims, 140km (90 miles)
from Paris.
A large security operation involving elite commandoes is
taking place in Reims, although officials are refusing to give
any details.
The satirical weekly has courted controversy in the past with
its irreverent take on news and current affairs. It was
firebombed in November 2011 a day after it carried a
caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Europe: Charlie Hebdo: Major manhunt for Paris gunmen
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