A huge police operation is under way north-east of Paris in the search for the main suspects in Wednesday’s deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine.
Officers are searching areas near the town of Villers-Cotterets where the two men reportedly robbed a petrol station.
The village of Longpont was sealed off during house-to-house searches for the brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi.
France has been marking a rare national day of mourning for the 12 victims of the attack on the magazine in Paris.
Officials say there is no evidence of a link between the Charlie Hebdo attack and a second gun attack on Thursday, in which a policewoman was shot dead in Montrouge, a southern suburb of the capital.
The gunman, armed with a machine-gun and a pistol, fled the attack scene in Montrouge.
Officials have extended the highest security level already in place in Paris to the northern Picardy region as police, including special anti-terror units, continue the manhunt for the Charlie Hebdo attackers. Helicopters flew overhead as they combed the area in the Aisne region.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 88,000 police officers and soldiers had been deployed across France since the attack.
French media reports say police have now pulled out of Longpont after searching the area and woods nearby. – BBC.
