Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2015-01-07

Paris Police have confirmed that 12 people have been killed and 10 others wounded in a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper firebombed in the past after publishing cartoons in 2011 joking about Muslim leaders.

The dead are believed to include two police officers, four cartoonists including the chief editor.

“About a half an hour ago two black-hooded men entered the building with Kalashnikovs (guns),” Benoit Bringer told French TV channel iTELE. “A few minutes later we heard lots of shots,” he said, adding that the men were then seen fleeing the building.

The French weekly came under fire in 2013 for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

The satirical newspaper has on several occasions depicted Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in an effort to defend free speech and defy the anger of Muslims.

French President Francois Hollande described the deadly attack on the satirical magazine in Paris as “barbaric,”and said that several other terror attacks have been thwarted “in recent weeks.”

Holland said the security level in Paris had been raised and a manhunt is under way for the gunmen, who escaped after a shootout in the street with police.

(Twitter: @Faizie143)