(MENAFN- The Peninsula) French elite forces stormed two hostage sites yesterday, killing the brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo massacre and a jihadist accomplice in a fiery end that claimed the lives of four hostages.
The killings brought a dramatic close to three days of terror and tension that began on Wednesday when the two armed Kouachi brothers burst into the satirical magazine's office and slaughtered some of best-loved cartoonists.
As shots and explosions rang out in the city, five people, including the gunman, were found dead in the aftermath of the assault on a Jewish supermarket in eastern Paris and several captives were freed, security sources said.
Gunmen at both sieges told French TV they were acting in the name of Al Qaeda in Yemen and the Islamic State group.
Seven people, including three police, were hurt in the supermarket raid with officers carrying some of the terrified hostages clear from the scene in their arms. "It's war!" screamed a mother as she pulled her daughter away.
At least one body was lying at the scene, where the sliding glass door of the shop was shattered.
After the three days of bloodshed, France was mourning the loss of 17 people and tending to 20 injured.
Supermarket gunman Amedy Coulibaly told French TV he was a member of the IS group and had coordinated his atrocities with one of the Charlie Hebdo gunmen, Cherif Kouachi, who told television he was backed and financed by Al Qaeda in Yemen.
President Francois Hollande said the threats facing France "weren't over."
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