Charlie Hebdo: Dual hostage dramas unfold as Paris massacre suspects cornered

Two major sieges are underway in France for the gunmen who shot dead 12 people at the office of a French weekly magazine, and one affiliated gunman who shot dead a policewoman. 

Key points

• Two suspects in the attack on Charlie Hebdo are surrounded by police in a building near Paris
• Brothers Cherif Kouachi and Said Kouachi are suspected of killing 12 people
• Shots fired earlier as police pursued a vehicle believed to contain the suspects
• Killing of policewoman linked to Charlie Hebdo attack
• Reports of a seperate shooting and hostage situation in Paris 
• Thousands of police, supported by helicopters, are involved in the operation
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  Several people were taken hostage at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris on Friday after a shootout involving a man armed with two guns, a police source said.

  There were unconfirmed local media reports that the man was the same as the one suspected of killing a policewoman in a southern suburb of Paris on Thursday.

  A police source had told Reuters earlier he was a member of the same jihadist group as the two suspects in Wednesday's attack at weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

  The exact number of hostages was unclear. Local media spoke of at least five. The police source said the man was equipped with automatic weapons.

  Police immediately cordoned off the area and a helicopter was flying overhead. Local media said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was rushing to the scene.

Source http://www.sbs.com.au/news/storystream/charlie-hebdo-dual-hostage-dramas-unfold-paris-massacre-suspects-cornered