Hostage-Taker Shot Dead By French Police

Cover image: a policeman was shot near the town of Carcassonne (Credit: PA Images).

Armed Police have shot dead a suspect who took hostages in Southern France, killing three people and injuring a dozen others. 

The man has been identified as Redouane Lakdim, 26, a petty criminal and small-time drug dealer who was radicalised and under police surveillance, said interior minister Gerard Collomb. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said all evidence suggested that it was a terror attack - the first one since he became president in May.

It is unclear how many victims there are overall according to Yves Lefebvre, secretary general of the SGP Police-FO police union.

The attacker first fired six shots at police officers on their way back from jogging near the city of Carcassonne on Friday morning, said Mr Lefebvre.

One police officer was shot in the shoulder but the injury was not serious, Mr Lefebvre said.

The suspect then went to a Super U supermarket in the nearby small town of Trebes, 60 miles south-east of Toulouse, where he a still-unknown number of victims hostage.

In an hours-long standoff, special police units converged on the scene and authorities blocked roads and urged residents to stay away.

Police then stormed the supermarket.

Mr Collomb confirmed that the attacker had been shot dead and three other people were killed.

The minister said that during the standoff Lakdim requested the release of the sole surviving assailant of the November 13, 2015, attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead.

The Paris prosecutor's office said counter-terrorism investigators were taking over the probe but did not explain why.

It's unconfirmed whether the suspect was acting alone but media reports suggest the terrorist group IS could have been behind the attack.

France has been on high alert since a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed more than 200 people.

The shootings occurred in a normally quiet part of France, where the main tourist attraction is the treasured old city of Carcassonne, its medieval walls and its summertime festivals.

Standing next to Mr Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her sympathy with those affected by the hostage-taking, saying:

"When it comes to terrorist threats, we stand by France."