Two armed men have taken hostages at a church near Rouen in northern France, media reports have said.
Reuters quoted a police source as saying between four and six people were being held by the men at the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.
A priest and two sisters, as well as churchgoers, were among those held, local media said.
France 3 television said a number of shots had been heard. Police and the emergency services are at the scene.
BBC
26/7/16
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Another hostage is reported to have been seriously injured and is "fighting for life" according to the country's interior ministry.
French newspapers reported that the dead priest was 92 and had served the community of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, south of Rouen, for decades.
It is believed the attack took place as he was celebrating mass.
The two hostage takers, whose identity and motives are still unknown, were killed in a police operation that ended the assault at the church, a spokesman for the interior ministry said.
The Vatican condemned the "barbarous killing" of the priest, saying the attack is even more heinous because it happened in a sacred place.
"The pope [Francis]... participates in the pain and horror of this absurd violence," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement.
Officers from the elite anti-terrorist Raid squad were called in to assist local police after the two assailants began their assault by taking five people hostage inside the church.
A number of shots were heard over a period of around 15 seconds as the incident came to an end around 11am local time (10am Irish time), some 40 minutes after it began.
"At one point, the two assailants came out of the church and that's when they were killed by the BRI elite force," Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told France Info radio.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls branded the attack "barbaric" and said it was a blow to all Catholics and the whole of France.
[rte.ie]
26/7/16
A priest and two sisters, as well as churchgoers, were among those held, local media said.
France 3 television said a number of shots had been heard. Police and the emergency services are at the scene.
BBC
26/7/16
---
- A priest has been killed during an attack in a church in France's northern Normandy region, police said.
Another hostage is reported to have been seriously injured and is "fighting for life" according to the country's interior ministry.
French newspapers reported that the dead priest was 92 and had served the community of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, south of Rouen, for decades.
It is believed the attack took place as he was celebrating mass.
The two hostage takers, whose identity and motives are still unknown, were killed in a police operation that ended the assault at the church, a spokesman for the interior ministry said.
The Vatican condemned the "barbarous killing" of the priest, saying the attack is even more heinous because it happened in a sacred place.
"The pope [Francis]... participates in the pain and horror of this absurd violence," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement.
Officers from the elite anti-terrorist Raid squad were called in to assist local police after the two assailants began their assault by taking five people hostage inside the church.
A number of shots were heard over a period of around 15 seconds as the incident came to an end around 11am local time (10am Irish time), some 40 minutes after it began.
"At one point, the two assailants came out of the church and that's when they were killed by the BRI elite force," Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told France Info radio.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls branded the attack "barbaric" and said it was a blow to all Catholics and the whole of France.
[rte.ie]
26/7/16
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