12 killed as terror strikes Paris

Paris, January 7

Masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a weekly satirical magazine known for lampooning radical Islam, killing at least 12 persons, including two police officers, in the worst militant attack on French soil in decades.

One of the men was captured on video outside the building waving his arms and shouting “Allah!”. After dozens of shots rang out, two assailants were seen calmly leaving the scene.

At least 20 persons were injured in the attack. Ten members of “Charlie Hebdo” (Charlie Weekly) staff died in the attack. Sources at the weekly said the dead included co-founder Jean "Cabu" Cabut and editor-in-chief Stephane "Charb" Charbonnier. A police union official said the assailants — Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said there were three — were at large and there were fears of further attacks.

The government declared the highest state of alert, increasing security at transport hubs, religious sites, media offices and department stores as the search for the assailants got under way.

Charlie Hebdo is known for courting controversy with satirical attacks on political and religious leaders and has published numerous cartoons ridiculing Islam. Jihadists online have repeatedly warned that the magazine would pay for its ridicule.

The last tweet on its account mocked Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the militant Islamic State, which has called for "lone wolf" attacks on French soil.

President Francois Hollande, who rushed to the scene, said: “An act of indescribable barbarity has just been committed today in Paris. Measures have been taken to find those responsible, they will be hunted for as long as it takes to catch them.”

In a clip on TV channel, the men are heard shouting in French: “We have killed Charlie Hebdo. We have avenged the Prophet Mohammad.” A witness quoted by 20 Minutes daily newspaper said one of the assailants cried out before entering the car: "Tell the media that it is al Qaeda in Yemen!" — Reuters

Controversial Danish paper steps up security

• Danish media group JP/Politikens Hus, whose newspaper Jyllands-Posten published anti-Islamic cartoons in 2005, has increased security at the office
• Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who stirred controversy in 2007 with his anti-Islam drawings, has also been given extra cover