French police kill assailants in bloody church siege

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A police source said that one of the hostages had been killed with a blade in the attack which took place in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, south of Rouen. French media reported the attackers cut the throat of the priest.

Two assailants who had taken five people hostage in the church at Saint-Etienne-du -Rouvray near Rouen were killed in a police operation to end the assault.

French President Francois Hollande was on his way to the site of the attack.

It was not immediately clear if the assailants were killed or taken alive in the police operation that ended the assault.

Live TV images showed police had blocked off the roads around the church and paramedics were seen pulling stretchers out of ambulances.

The hostages included a priest, two nuns and two worshippers according to BFM TV.

In the latest update, it is confirmed that both of the attackers have been killed by the police.

The attack is the latest in a string of deadly assaults in Europe. In France, the Normandy attack comes 12 days after a 31-year-old Tunisian killed 84 people in the French Riviera city of Nice when he ploughed his heavy goods truck into a crowd of revellers. Islamic State claimed the attack in Nice. 

The attack took place in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, south of Rouen.

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