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Amedy Coulibaly
A man has been arrested in the Paris region as part of the investigation into the November 13 attacks in the city, sources close to French police say.
Some 2,700 raids have been conducted since the attacks, with 360 people placed under house arrest across France, the AFP reports.
Police have also arrested two people in northern France suspected of supplying weapons to one of the gunmen in earlier attacks on Paris, reports say.
They were taken in for questioning.
The 29-year-old man arrested on December 15 was planning to travel to Syria, according to one French media report.
The Paris prosecutor’s office says the two people arrested in northern France were held on suspicion of helping to provide guns to Amedy Coulibaly, who attacked a kosher supermarket in January.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed that the man arrested was Claude Hermant, who is known to have links to far-right groups, while the other is his partner.
Amedy Coulibaly killed four people inside the supermarket, and separately a policewoman, before dying in a shootout with police.
Meanwhile, a prominent Islamist preacher, Sven Lau, has been arrested in Moenchengladbach, western Germany, on suspicion of supporting a group linked to ISIS militants, and recruiting fighters for it.
Sven Lau – a convert to Islam – is known for a series of controversial initiatives, like setting up so-called Sharia police patrols to enforce Islamic rules in the western city of Wuppertal.
The state interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, Ralf Jaeger, said the state authorities were trying to monitor hundreds of Islamists they believed were willing to use violence.
He said Sven Lau played an important role in trying to radicalize people: “He is one of the leading figures of the Salafist scene. He is someone who is trying to infect other young people with this extremism. He openly campaigns for terrorist organizations. That’s clearly dangerous because more and more people slip into this scene.”
It is known that the two Stade de France bombers arrived on Leros aboard smugglers’ boats on October 3, then left for Athens with four other men, who have not been seen since.
A travel agent in Leros, who unwittingly sold the two bombers ferry tickets to Athens, says he is reasonably sure he also served Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who stood out from hundreds of other migrants because he spoke French.
A trustee at the main island hospital also claims Abdelhamid Abaaoud came to the hospital to be treated for a minor leg wound. He claims Abdelhamid Abaaoud appeared nervous and suspicious, and offered a €100 ($110) bribe to jump the treatment queue.
Belgian and French officials say Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian Islamist of Moroccan descent, organized November’s attacks which killed 130 people.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud was known to have been living in Athens in January this year, but fled to Syria after a failed attempt by Belgian police to catch him.
A transcript of a footage showing Paris gunman Amedy Coulibaly during a bloody rampage inside Jewish supermarket HyperCacher has been released nearly two months after the attacks in the French capital.
Amedy Coulibaly delivers an anti-Semitic rant and shouts “Stand up or I’ll kill you” at hostages, according to a transcript obtained by Le Nouvel Observateur.
During the seven-minute video he shoots dead three of his four victims.
Seventeen people died in three days of violence that began at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 7.
Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi killed 12 when they burst into Charlie Hebdo‘s offices.
Police believe Amedy Coulibaly shot dead a policewoman in the Montrouge area of Paris the day before the attack on the kosher supermarket at Porte de Vincennes.
Investigators are examining seven minutes 45 seconds of footage apparently filmed by Amedy Coulibaly on a GoPro camera worn during the siege, according to reports.
The footage shows Amedy Coulibaly shouting “Nobody move”, before grabbing hold of a customer, asking his name, and then shooting him dead.
He asks another man what origin he is. And when the hostage replies “Jewish”, he kills him too.
“So you know why I am here then. Allahu Akbar,” Amedy Coulibaly shouts, according to Le Nouvel Observateur‘s report.
He is also heard making anti-Semitic remarks when one woman tries to tell him that his hostages have done nothing wrong.
Amedy Coulibaly is believed to have had a long history of criminal activity – including drugs offences – and links to at least one of the Kouachi brothers.
A separate video that emerged after Amedy Coulibaly was shot dead by police apparently showed him pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State militant group, and claiming the attacks were “retribution”.
The supermarket footage apparently shows Amedy Coulibaly asking one of his hostages to help up upload his camera footage to a computer.
Shop assistant Lassana Bathily is thought to have saved many customers’ lives by hiding them in a cold store.
The transcript comes a day after France announced plans to improve dialogue with the country’s Muslim community.
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Dieudonne M’bala M’bala is set to go on trial for a Facebook comment appearing to back Paris gunman Amedy Coulibaly.
The comment referred to a series of three attacks in Paris in January in which 17 people were killed.
The controversial French Comedian is charged with condoning terrorism.
If found guilty, Dieudonne M’bala M’bala could face up to 7 years in jail and a €5,000 ($5,900) fine.
He already has several convictions for inciting anti-Semitism.
Following a massive march in Paris to condemn the attacks, Dieudonne M’bala M’bala wrote on his Facebook account: “I feel like Charlie Coulibaly [French: je me sens Charlie Coulibaly].” 
The statement combined the “Je Suis Charlie” slogan adopted worldwide after the Paris attacks with the name of one of the three gunmen involved in the attacks.
AmedyCoulibaly killed a policewoman near a Jewish school on January 8 before going on to hold up kosher supermarket HyperCacher the following day, when he murdered four Jewish hostages.
On January 7, two gunmen killed 12 people at magazine Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine that has frequently launched withering attacks on religion, including depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
Dieudonne M’bala M’bala’s comment drew an angry response from many in France.
French PM Manuel Valls said that freedom of speech should not be confused with anti-Semitism, racism and Holocaust denial.
After Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he had asked the authorities to investigate Dieudonne M’bala M’bala’s remarks, the comedian posted a response on his Facebook page, arguing that he was being treated as a public enemy when all he wanted to do was make people laugh.
The comedian’s detention drew claims of double standards over free speech from some quarters in France.
Dieudonne M’bala M’bala is also facing an inquiry into whether he condoned terrorism in a video in which he mocked the beheading of US journalist James Foley by Islamic State militants.
He was acquitted last year over comments made in a video in which he called for the release of a man who tortured and murdered Ilan Halimi, a Jewish man, in Paris in 2006.
Dieudonne M’bala M’bala has attracted controversy over his trademark “quenelle” gesture. It has been called an inverted Nazi salute, but the comic argues it was intended to be anti-establishment.
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Amedy Coulibaly, the Islamist militant shot dead by French special forces two weeks ago after he attacked Jewish supermarket HyperCacher, has been buried near Paris.
Police sources said Amedy Coulibaly had been buried in the Muslim section of the Thiais cemetery, outside Paris.
Seventeen people died in three days of violence in Paris that began with an assault on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 7.
Two other attackers, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, have already been buried.
Amedy Coulibaly, 32, killed four people and held a number of others hostage at a Jewish supermarket in eastern Paris on January 9.
Police also believe Amedy Coulibaly killed a female police officer in the Montrouge area of the French capital a day earlier.
Amedy Coulibaly is believed to have had a long history of criminal activity – including drugs offences – and links to at least one of the Kouachi brothers.
Earlier, France’s top legal authority ruled that it was lawful to strip a dual national convicted of terrorism offences of his French nationality.
Ahmed Sahnouni, a Moroccan naturalized by France in 2003, had challenged the stripping of his citizenship.
However, the Constitutional Council ruled that the move was justified by the seriousness of the need to tackle Islamist extremism.
Ahmed Sahnouni was jailed for seven years in 2013 for terror-related activities.
Under French law, nationals can be stripped of their naturalized citizenship if they are convicted of “terror acts”, but only if the move would not make them stateless.
According to a recent poll, 81% of French people wanted dual nationals convicted of terrorism offences to have their French passports taken away.
It also suggested 68% believed French citizens involved in violent jihad abroad should not be allowed to return to France.
Controversial French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala was arrested on January 14 for “defending terrorism”.
Police opened an investigation into the comic on Janaury 12, after he wrote on a Facebook post “I feel like Charlie Coulibaly” – merging Charlie Hebdo with the name of supermarket gunman Amedy Coulibaly.
Dieudonné M’Bala M’bala, 48, who was being held for questioning at a Paris police station, could face possible charges of “apology for terorism”.
After mocking the media superlatives about Sunday’s Paris unity march, Dieudonne declared: “As for me, I feel I am Charlie Coulibaly.”
Amedy Coulibaly was the man who took hostages and killed four people at the Jewish supermarket HyperCacher in eastern Paris on January 9 before being killed by police.
Dieudonné’s comments generated a wave of fury on the internet – including many angry reactions from his own fans on his Facebook page. His statement was withdrawn after less than an hour.
The French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, called the comment “abject” and asked his officials to investigate whether Dieudonne should be prosecuted for breaching a French law which forbids “apology for” or encouragement of terrorism.
PM Manuel Valls made an impassioned attack on Dieudonne in the National Assembly on January 13. He called him a “peddler of hate and said there should be no confusion between the <<impertinent>> satire of Charlie Hebdo and <<anti-semitism, racism and negationism>>.”
Dieudonné has several convictions for making anti-semitic comments and jokes. He came to international attention 12 months ago after the footballer Nicolas Anelka performed his trademark gesture the “quenelle” during a Premier League match.
The comedien’s stage show was banned a year ago, and had to be amended, because it contained “jokes” mocking the Holocaust. He also suggested that a Jewish radio presenter “reminded him of gas chambers”.
In an open letter to Bernard Cazeneuve, Dieudonne claimed on January 13 that he had been misunderstood. He said that he, like Charlie Hebdo, was a victim of attempts to deny freedom of speech. In his case, he said, his assailant was the government.
What he had meant to say on Facebook, he said, was that: “I am considered like another Amedy Coulibaly when in fact I am no different from Charlie.”
Dieudonne’s original statement on his Facebook page was: “After this historic, no legendary, march, a magic moment equal to the Big Bang which created the Universe, or in a smaller (more local) way comparable to the crowning of the (ancient Gaullish king) Vercingétorix, I am going home. Let me say that this evening, as far as I am concerned, I feel I am Charlie Coulibaly.”
Hayat Boumeddiene, the girlfriend of Paris supermarket attacker Amedy Coulibaly, appears in Istanbul airport CCTV footage as she arrives in Turkey.
The video purports to show Hayat Boumeddiene passing through passport control with another man on January 2. She is thought to now be in Syria.
French police are seeking her after Amedy Coulibaly and two other gunmen launched deadly attacks on Paris last week.
About 10,000 troops have been deployed in France following the attacks.
Hayat Boumeddiene has been identified as a suspect by French police, although she left France before the attacks.
The Turkish foreign minister said she arrived in Turkey on January 2 from Madrid, before continuing to Syria six days later.
The security footage, published by Haberturk newspaper, was released by Turkish police. It appeared to show Hayat Boumeddiene and a man at Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul.
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According to Turkish officials, the man was Mehdi Sabri Belhouchine, a man of North African origin, and that he was not on a watch list. Officials believe he crossed into Syria with Hayat Boumeddiene.
Hayat Boumeddiene’s boyfriend, Amedy Coulibaly, had killed four people at kosher supermarket HyperCacher in eastern Paris on January 9 before police stormed the building. He is also believed to have shot dead a policewoman the day before.
Amedy Coulibaly had claimed that he co-ordinated his attack with brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, who attacked the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 7, killing 12 people. All three gunmen were shot dead on January 9 after police ended two separate sieges.
French prosecutors said Hayat Boumeddiene had exchanged more than 500 phone calls with the wife of Cherif Kouachi in 2014.
French police said they had also found a second flat in Paris which had been used as a hide-out by Amedy Coulibaly, and contained weapons.
Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu said on January 12 that Turkey had not been asked to deny Hayat Boumeddiene access.
“We need to receive intelligence first so we can track people. We have 7,000 people on a no-entry list and deported 2,000, including French and German citizens.”
He added: “Is it Turkey’s fault that it has borders with Syria?”
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10,000 French troops have been mobilized to boost security after last week’s deadly attacks in Paris.
Thousands of police officers have been also sent to protect Jewish schools.
Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said troops would be in place from January 13 in sensitive areas.
It is the first time troops have been deployed within France on such a scale.
Seventeen people were killed in Paris last week in attacks at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, on a police officer, and at kosher supermarket HyperCacher.
On January 11, an estimated 3.7 million people took to the streets to show solidarity with the victims, including 1.5 million people in Paris.
About 40 world leaders joined the start of the Paris march, linking arms in an act of solidarity.
Photo AFP
President Francois Hollande ordered the deployment of troops during a crisis meeting with top officials early on January 12.
Jean-Yves Le Drian said the deployment, the first of its kind, was needed because “threats remain present”.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazaneuve announced that nearly 5,000 members of the security forces would be sent to protect France’s 717 Jewish schools, and that troops would be sent as reinforcements over the next two days.
PM Manuel Valls said synagogues would also be protected, as would mosques, following some retaliatory attacks over the Charlie Hebdo killings.
Last week, Manuel Valls admitted there had been “clear failings” after it emerged that the three gunman involved in the attacks – Said and Cherif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly – had a history of extremism.
The Kouachi brothers were on UK and US terror watch lists and Amedy Coulibaly had previously been convicted for plotting to free a known militant from prison. Amedy Coulibaly met Cherif Kouachi while in jail.
Amedy Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers were shot dead on January 9 after police ended two separate sieges.
Amedy Coulibaly killed four people at HyperCacher supermarket in eastern Paris on January 9 before police stormed the building. He is also believed to have shot dead a policewoman the day before.
Ahead of Sunday’s rally in Paris, a video emerged appearing to show Amedy Coulibaly pledging allegiance to the Islamic State militant group.
In the video, he said he was working with the Kouachi brothers: “We have split our team into two… to increase the impact of our actions.”
The Kouachi brothers claimed they were acting on behalf of Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda (AQAP). But experts say it is highly unlikely that Islamic State and al-Qaeda, rivals in the Middle East, would plan an attack together.
Manuel Valls said on January 12 that authorities thought that the attackers had at least one accomplice, for whom police are still hunting.
One suspect is Hayat Boumeddiene, Amedy Coulibaly’s girlfriend, though she left France before the attacks. The Turkish foreign minister said Hayat Boumeddiene had arrived in Turkey on January 2 from Madrid, before continuing to Syria six days later.
Surveillance footage released on January 12 showed Hayat Boumeddiene entering Turkey at an Istanbul airport, accompanied by a man.
According to Turkish officials, the man was Mehdi Sabri Belhouchine, a man of “North African origin”, and that he was not on a watch list. Officials believe he crossed into Syria with Hayat Boumeddiene.
Manuel Valls also said that a jogger shot in a separate attack in Paris on January 7, which prosecutors have linked to Amedy Coulibaly, was “between life and death”.
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French authorities have deployed 500 extra troops around Paris after three days of terror in the capital killed 17 people.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said all necessary measures were being taken to protect the country.
Police in France are hunting for any accomplices of three gunmen killed by police on January 9 after two sieges.
More than 210,000 people have taken part in silent marches across France to remember the victims.
After a security cabinet meeting on January 10, Bernard Cazeneuve said France would remain on its highest state of alert “for the next few weeks”.
He promised tight security for a massive unity march in Paris on January 11.
Those set to attend Sunday’s unity rally include UK PM David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu, Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“Sunday, the French people will cry out their love of liberty,” said PM Manuel Valls.
Photo AP
France would be “firm and relentless in the face of the enemies of liberty”, he added, urging all people to “assume their responsibilities”.
Silent marches have held in cities including Paris, Orleans, Nice, Pau, Toulouse and Nantes to remember the victims of this week’s violence.
Some protesters held banners that read “I am against racism”, “unite”, or “I am Charlie”, in reference to Charlie Hebo, the satirical magazine whose offices were attacked on January 7.
The family of Ahmed Merabet, one of the police officers killed during the Charlie Hebdo attack, gave an emotional news conference on January 10.
Ahmed Merabet was “Muslim, and very proud of being a police officer and defending the values of the Republic”, his brother Malek Merabet said.
He added that the family was “devastated by this act of barbarity, and shared the pain of the families of all the victims”.
“I want to say to all the racist, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic people, that one must not amalgamate extremists and Muslims,” Ahmed Merabet’s brother added.
The family said they were “proud” of the gatherings that had taken place to commemorate the victims, saying they proved that France could be united.
The violence began when two brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi, killed 12 people and injured 11 in an attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 7.
On Janaury 9, Cherif and Said Kouachi were killed by police in Dammartin-en-Goele, 22 miles north of Paris, as they emerged from a besieged warehouse building firing their automatic weapons.
One hostage had earlier been released and a second employee, who was hiding in the building’s cafeteria, was freed by police.
Police shortly afterwards launched an assault on a supermarket in eastern Paris where gunman Amedy Coulibaly had been holding several hostages.
Police killed Amedy Coulibaly and rescued 15 hostages. They found the bodies of four hostages who are believed to have been killed before the assault.
The four victims have been identified as Yoav Hattab, Philippe Braham, Yohan Cohen, and Francois-Michel Saada. Their names were released by the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions.
Police are searching for Hayat Boumeddiene, Amedy Coulibaly’s girlfriend. She was said to be with Amedy Coulibaly when a policewoman was killed in Paris on Thursday, and is described as “armed and dangerous”.
Security officials have said they were aware of Amedy Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers. Said Kouachi was known to have travelled to Yemen in 2011.
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French police are hunting for any accomplices of the gunmen who killed 17 people in two days of terror attacks.
One key figure is Hayat Boumeddiene, Amedy Coulibaly’s girlfriend. He was killed when police stormed HyperCacher supermarket in Paris on January 9.
Hayat Boumeddiene was said to be with Amedy Coulibaly when a female police officer was killed and is described as “armed and dangerous”.
Cherif and Said Kouachi, the two gunmen who carried out Wednesday’s deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine, were killed by police on January 9.
President Francois Hollande praised the police but also warned of further threats.
He thanked the security services for their “bravery and efficiency”, saying the week’s violence was “a tragedy for the nation”.
Francois Molins, the chief prosecutor in France, said authorities were urgently focusing on Hayat Boumeddiene.
French newspaper Le Monde published a series of photos said to show Amedy Coulibaly with Hayat Boumeddiene in 2010. In one, the 26-year-old woman is pictured pointing a crossbow at the camera while wearing a full-face veil, which is banned in France.
Francois Molins said the investigation would “focus on determining who their accomplices were, how these criminal actions were financed, and all the instruction and help they may have benefited from whether in France, from overseas”.
He said 16 people had been detained for questioning, including the wife of one of the Kouachi brothers and other members of their family.
French government ministers are meeting on Saturday morning to plan their next steps.
A number of world leaders have called Francois Hollande to express support.
The first siege on January 9 – in Dammartin-en-Goele, 22 miles north of Paris – involved the Kouachi brothers who had attacked the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 7.
Cherif and Said Kouachi were shot dead as they came out of a warehouse building firing at police. Two officers were injured.
One hostage had earlier been released and a second employee, who was hiding in the building’s cafeteria, was freed by police after the shooting ended.
Police shortly afterwards launched an assault on HyperCacher supermarket in Paris, killing Amedy Coulibaly and rescuing 15 hostages. They found the bodies of four hostages believed to have been killed before the assault.
Officials have said they were aware of Amedy Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers. Said Kouachi was known to have travelled to Yemen in 2011.
Said and Cherif Kouachi are understood to have been on UK and US watch-lists.
While holed up in the warehouse north of Paris, Cherif Kouachi phoned a French TV news network and told them he was acting on behalf of the Yemen branch of al-Qaeda (AQAP).
The extremist group released an audio message late on January 9 praising the attacks but stopped short of claiming responsibility.
AQAP senior leader Sheikh Harith al-Nadhari said “some in France have misbehaved with the prophets of God,” adding that “God’s faithful soldiers” had taught them “the limits of freedom of speech”.
Earlier on Friday, a man claiming to be Amedy Coulibaly told French TV station BFMTV that he was a member of the Islamic State militant group, and that he had “co-ordinated” his attack with the Kouachi brothers.
Francois Molins confirmed that Amedy Coulibaly knew one of the brothers and their respective partners had spoken on the phone more than 500 times.
During Friday’s siege, Amedy Coulibaly had threatened to kill his captives if police attempted to capture the brothers, he added.
PM Manuel Valls admitted there had been a “clear failing” in French intelligence.
“If 17 people die, this means mistakes have been made,” he said, including those killed in attacks on January 7 and 8 in the toll.
The violence started on January 7 when the Kouachi brothers killed 12 people and injured 11 in an attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo.
The unprecedented attack shocked France and there has been an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity worldwide.
The French ministers’ meeting on Saturday will make preparations for a huge unity rally due to take place in the heart of Paris on January 11.
Among those attending will be UK PM David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy.
President Barack Obama said he had directed his intelligence agencies to help France deal with any further threats.
Meanwhile, the US state department has updated its travel guidance, warning Americans travelling abroad to maintain a high level of vigilance.
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Four hostages have been killed at HyperCacher as anti-terror forces stormed the Jewish supermarket in eastern Paris.
Several hostages were being held by a gunman with links to Charlie Hebdo attack suspects.
It is not clear whether the four hostages were killed before or after the police assault began.
Another four hostages were seriously injured, but 15 were freed alive.
After the police operation started, several hostages could be seen leaving the HyperCacher supermarket.
Two police officers were injured in the rescue operation, AP reported.
In a separate incident, a hostage at the warehouse in Dammartin-en-Goele, 22 miles north of Paris was also freed, while a police officer at the scene was injured, AFP news agency said.
Charlie Hebdo attack suspects Cherif and Said Kouachi have been killed in the incident.
French President Francois Hollande has described the events as “a tragedy for the nation”.
In a national address, Francois Hollande thanked the security forces for their “courage, bravery [and] efficiency”, but added that France still faced threats.
“We have to be vigilant. I also ask you to be united – it’s our best weapon,” he said.
“We must be implacable towards racism,” he added, saying that the supermarket attack was an “appalling anti-Semitic act”.
“Those who committed these acts, these fanatics, have nothing to do with the Muslim faith.”
The police assaults came after three tense days in France.
Twelve people were shot dead and 11 were injured in Wednesday’s attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine.
The unprecedented attack shocked France and there has been an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity worldwide.
The two suspects of the Charlie Hebdo shootings, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, then went on the run for two days, before being surrounded at Dammartin as night fell on Friday.
French police said they came out firing.
The hostage taker in eastern Paris targeted Jewish supermarket HyperCacher, near Porte de Vincennes. He has been named as Amedy Coulibaly, 32. It is not clear whether he had an accomplice.
He knew at least one of the suspected Charlie Hebdo attackers, a source told AFP news agency.
Amedy Coulibaly had threatened to kill his captives if police attempted to capture the brothers, reports citing police said.
Earlier on Friday, a man claiming to be Amedy Coulibaly told French TV station BFMTV that he was a member of the Islamic State militant group, and that he had “co-ordinated” his attack with the Kouachi brothers.
Amedy Coulibaly was also suspected of being behind the shooting of a policewoman in the southern suburb of Montrouge on January 8.
On January 9, French police issued an appeal for witnesses to that shooting. They said they were looking for Amedy Coulibaly, as well as a woman called Hayat Boumeddiene, 26.
Hayat Boumeddiene’s whereabouts are not clear.
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Explosions and gunfire have been heard at Jewish supermarket HyperCacher in eastern Paris, at Porte de Vincennes, where a gunman had held several hostages.
Reports suggest Amedy Coulibaly was linked to Charlie Hebdo attack suspects Cherif and Said Kouachi.
After the operation started, several hostages could be seen leaving the supermarket.
The hostage at the printworks warehouse has also been freed, while a police officer at the scene was injured, AFP news agency said. Charlie Hebdo attack suspects Cherif and Said Kouachi are reportedly dead.
Twelve people were shot dead and 11 were injured in Wednesday’s attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine.
The unprecedented attack shocked France and there has been an outpouring of sympathy and solidarity worldwide.
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Amedy Coulibaly and Hayat Boumeddiene have been named as suspects wanted in connection with the killing of policewoman Clarissa Jean-Philippe in Montrouge on January 8 and an ongoing hostage siege at a kosher grocery in a Paris suburb.
Amedy Coulibaly, 32, and his girlfriend Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, are described as “armed and dangerous”.
The man is also believed to be behind the siege at a kosher grocery in Porte de Vincennes in which two people have reportedly died and at least five people are being held hostage, including women and children.
Amedy Coulibaly reportedly told police: “You know who I am and I’m going to keep these hostages until the siege in Dammartin is lifted.”
Just like the Kouachi brothers, who are believed to be behind Charlie Hebdo attack that left dead 12 people, Amedy Coulibaly was part of the “Buttes-Chaumont network” that helped send would-be jihadists to fight for al-Qaeda in Iraq. 
Amedy Coulibaly was named along with Cherif Kouachi in connection with the 2010 prison escape plot for another Islamist, Smain Ait Ali Belkacem, who bombed the Paris subway in 1995, which injured 30 people.
In 2013, Amedy Coulibaly was condemned to five years in prison for the Belkacem escape plot – but got out of jail just two months ago.
Amedy Coulibaly and Cherif Kouachi were followers of convicted terrorist Djamel Beghal, according to Le Monde. The two visited Djamel Beghal’s home in Murat in the south of France, according to telephone conversations.
Hayat Boumeddiene has been Amedy Coulibaly’s partner since 2010 and lived in his home while he was serving a prison sentence.
Clarissa Jean-Philippe was shot in the vicinity of Amedy Coulibaly’s intended target – a Jewish primary school, CNN reported.
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Heavily armed anti-terror teams are mobilized in eastern Paris after a gunman has seized hostages at a kosher supermarket.
Schools near the supermarket are under lockdown, AP news agency reports.
Separately police have ordered the closure of all shops in the Marais, a traditionally Jewish area in the heart of Paris’s central tourist district.
The hostage-taker in eastern Paris – said to have taken up to five people prisoner – knew at least one of the suspected Charlie Hebdo attackers, a source told AFP news agency.
The gunman is suspected to be behind the shooting of a policewoman in Montrouge on January 8.
French police have issued an appeal for witnesses to that shooting. They said they were looking for two people: a man called Amedy Coulibaly, 32, and a woman called Hayat Boumeddiene, 26.
The two were thought to be “armed and dangerous”, French police said.
The Charlie Hebdo attackers, named as brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, linked by intelligence officials to militant groups, shouted Islamist slogans during the shooting at the magazine office on January 7 and then fled Paris in a hijacked car, heading north.
Shots were fired during a high-speed car chase earlier on Friday.
It appears the suspects had hijacked another car in the town of Montagny-Sainte-Felicite before travelling on to Dammartin.
The car’s owner is said to have recognized them as brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, the key suspects.
In a televised statement, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed the men being sought on January 9 were those wanted for the Charlie Hebdo attack and said they would be “neutralized”.
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