Masked gunmen have shot dead 12 people at the Paris office of renown French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The killing is an apparent militant Islamist attack. It is in fact the the deadliest attack in France since 1961, when the Algerians bombed a train, killing 28 people whilst in war with France.

“This is a terrorist attack of exceptional barbarity,’ President Francois Hollande said.

“An act of indescribable barbarity has just been committed today in Paris. Measures have been taken to find those responsible, they will be hunted for as long as it takes to catch them and bring them to justice. They will be pursued for as long as is necessary in order that they be arrested and put in front of a court and a judge so they can be prosecuted.”

The deceased co-founder and cartoonist Jean Cabut, editor-in-chief Stephane ‘Charb’ Charbonnier, had received death threats and lived under police protection. Deputy chief editor Bernard Maris, and cartoonists Georges Wolinski and Tignous, were among the victims, as well as two police officers.

Three gunmen escaped the scene in a hijacked car, they abandoned on the outskirts of the city a few hours later. The terrorists initially burst into neighbouring number 6 rue Nicolas-Appert in Paris, shouting “is this Charlie Hebdo?” before realising they had got the wrong address. They then moved to number 10, shooting the reception staff before climbing up the stairs to the second floor where the magazine’s journalists and cartoonists were having an editorial meeting. Only one person survived, by remaining hidden under a table.

“The two men opened fire and coldly killed the people in the conference room, as well as the police officer in charge of protecting [cartoonist] Charb, who did not have time to react,” according to a police source.

Patrick Klugman, the deputy mayor of Paris, said the killers knew exactly who they were looking for.

“Two shooters enter into the press room and pick the journalists, asked for their names, and shot bullets in their head,” he said.

A police document identified two of the gunmen as brothers Said Kouachi, born in 1980, Cherif Kouachi, born in 1982, and Hamyd Mourad, born in 1996. The two are from Paris and the third is believed to be from Reims.

The 18 year-old gunman is said to have surrendered himself to the police, after he saw his name on social media.

Footage from the murder of the policeman by the terrorist gunmen in Paris. Warning: Graphic content.

Martin Boudot, a journalist who managed to take refuge on a nearby rooftop, shot a video where the men can be heard screaming “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) between rounds of gunfire. Another clip was aired on Television station iTELE, where the attackers are heard shouting “We have killed Charlie Hebdo. We have avenged the Prophet Mohammed.”

“I was at home, I heard gunshots. At first I thought it was the Chinese New Year but it wasn’t the date. I looked through the window and I saw police officers playing hide and seek with the criminals and I understood it was a shooting,” said a neighbour.

“I saw people hiding in the subway station and I gathered something serious was going on,” one by-standing witness told iTELE TV News.

“About a half an hour ago two black-hooded men entered the building with Kalashnikovs. A few minutes later we heard lots of shots. Then we saw the gunmen fleeing the building.”

Police union official Rocco Contento described the scene inside the offices as “carnage” and stressed his worry of more lethal terrorist attacks in the near future.

*Charlie Hebdo (Charlie Weekly) is renowned for its controversial satirical attacks on political and religious leaders as well as for publishing numerous cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammed.
In February 2006 the magazine reprinted cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that had originally appeared in Danish daily Jyllands-Posten, infuriating the Muslim world.
Its offices were fire-bombed in November 2011 when it published a cartoon of Mohammed under the title “Charia Hebdo”.
In September 2012 Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of a naked Mohammed as an answer to violent protests which were taking place in several countries over a low-budget film, titled “Innocence of Muslims”, which was made in the United States and insulted the prophet.

The newspaper’s last twitter update lampooned Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the militant Islamic State.