12 killed in Paris terror attack

Twelve people were killed and 10 injured when gunmen attacked the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, on Wednesday.

According to AFP, two of those killed were police officers and five out of those wounded are in a critical state.

Benoit Bringer, a witness who spoke with Channel Itele, French TV, said the gunmen escaped after the attack.

“Two black-hooded men entered the building with Kalashnikovs,” Bringer said.

“A few minutes later, we heard lots of shots. The men were then seen fleeing the building.”

The magazine known for critical position on issues has courted several controversy in the past.

In Novemeber 2011, Charlie Hebdo was bombed a day after it carried a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.

Its latest tweet before the current attack was a caricature cartoon of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State militant group.

President Francois Hollande has condemned the attack, describing it as “a terrorist attack of exceptional barbarity”.

“People had been murdered in a cowardly manner,” he said.

“We are threatened because we are a country of liberty.”

“It’s carnage,” French police official Luc Poignant told another French channel, BFMTV.

Police have warned French media to be on alert and pay attention to security following the attack.

A major police operation has been launched to arrest the attackers, who are at large.