Gunmen Attack French Magazine Kill 12

Armed men have attacked the Paris office of French Satirical Magazine, Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people, and injuring many, French officials say.

A major Police operation has been launched in the Paris area to apprehend the attackers who are said to still be at large as at the time of filling this report.

The Satirical weekly magazine has been involved in controversial issues in the past with its irreverent take on news and current affairs.

The magazine was fire-bombed in November 2011, a day after it published a caricature of the Prophet Muhammed.

Speaking at the scene of the attack, President Hollande told reporters that people had been “murdered in a cowardly manner,” adding that, “we are threatened because we are a country of liberty.”

The president, who appealed for national unity, said there was no doubt it had been a terrorist attack “of exceptional barbarity.”