Gunmen and Hostages Killed After Two Separate Paris Sieges

The manhunt following the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in Paris has ended, with police and special forces raids on two separate sieges, and reports of the deaths of the gunmen, as well as several hostages.
The Sydney Morning Herald report that the Kouachi brothers, behind Wednesday’s bloody attack, were pinned down by police for most of Friday at a printing shop in Dammartin-en-Goele, north of Paris, where they took one man hostage.
Late Friday, following a “loud detonation”, gunfire and explosions, police stormed the building. The brothers were killed in the siege, while Fairfax report that the hostage was rescued alive.
In a separate incident, a man named Amedy Coulibaly, an associate of the Kouachi brothers and a suspect in the killing of a policewoman on Thursday, stormed a kosher grocery store in Paris and took a number of hostages.
Coulibaly was killed in a police raid on the grocery store. While reports are still unconfirmed, The Huffington Post say that “at least four hostages” were killed alongside him, while two police were also injured.
Police in Paris are still hunting 26-year-old Hayat Boumeddiene, Coulibaly’s partner and alleged accomplice in the siege, who is believed to have evaded capture as several hostages escaped.
“I want the people of France to know that the United States stands with you today, stands with you tomorrow,” said U.S. President Barack Obama, in a statement following the crisis.
“The moment that the outrageous attack took place, we directed all of our law enforcement and counter-intelligence operations to provide whatever support that our ally needs in confronting this challenge,” he continued. 
“We’re hopeful the immediate threat is now resolved. The French government continues to face the threat of terrorism and has to remain vigilant. The situation is fluid.”  
“President Hollande made it clear they’ll do whatever is necessary to protect their people and I think it’s important for us to understand France is our oldest ally.”

Photo: Aurelien Meunier via Getty Images

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