POLICE HUNT SUSPECTS OF CHARLIE HEBEDO ATTACK

Police in France have made seven arrests as
they hunt for two named suspects over the
deadly attack in Paris on staff at a satirical
magazine.
The seven, thought to be associates or family of
the suspects, were detained in the towns of
Reims and Charleville-Mezieres, as well as in
the Paris area.
Photos were released of two brothers suspected
of involvement in the attack.
France is mourning the 12 people killed when
Charlie Hebdo was targeted by gunmen shouting
Islamist slogans.
A minute's silence will be observed at midday
across the country and the bells of Notre Dame
in the capital will toll.
Arrest warrants were issued for Cherif and Said
Kouachi, said to be "armed and dangerous". A
third suspect has surrendered.
Cherif Kouachi was sentenced in 2008 to three
years in prison for belonging to a Paris-based
group sending jihadist fighters to Iraq.
Vigils
Paris has been placed on the highest terror alert
and extra troops have been deployed to guard
media offices, places of worship, transport and
other sensitive areas.
Vigils have been held in Paris and in cities
across the world in tribute to those killed in
Wednesday's attack. Many carried placards
reading "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) in
solidarity with the victims.
There was a huge police operation in Reims
overnight but officials gave no details
Eight journalists - including the magazine's
editor - died along with two policemen, a
caretaker and a visitor when masked men
armed with assault rifles stormed the Charlie
Hebdo offices.
The magazine has angered some Muslims in the
past by printing cartoons of the Prophet
Muhammad. The offices were firebombed in
2011.
The gunmen were heard shouting "we have
avenged the Prophet Muhammad" and "God is
Great" in Arabic.
French media, citing police documents, initially
named a third suspect as Hamyd Mourad, 18,
who later handed himself in to police. He
reportedly surrendered after hearing his name
on the news.
France 'targeted'
President Francois Hollande said the country's
tradition of free speech had been attacked and
called on all French people to stand together.
In a sombre televised address late on
Wednesday he said: "Today the French Republic
as a whole was the target."
Thursday's national day of mourning is only the
fifth held in France in the past 50 years.
The attack took place as the magazine was
holding its weekly editorial meeting. In addition
to the dead, 11 people were wounded, some
seriously.
The victims

Those killed (from left) include economist
Bernard Maris, prominent cartoonists
Wolinski and Cabu, Charlie Hebdo editor
Stephane Charbonnier and cartoonist
Bernard Verlhac
Charlie Hebdo editor and cartoonist
Stephane "Charb" Charbonnier, 47, who had
been living under police protection since
receiving death threats
Cartoonists Jean "Cabu" Cabut, 76, Bernard
"Tignous" Verlhac, 57, Georges Wolinski, 80,
and Philippe Honore, 73
Economist and regular magazine columnist
Bernard Maris, 68, known to readers as
Uncle Bernard
Mustapha Ourrad, proof-reader
lsa Cayat, psychoanalyst and columnist, the
only woman killed
Michel Renaud, who was visiting from the
city of Clermont-Ferrand
Frederic Boisseau, 42, caretaker, who was in
the reception area at the time of the attack
Police officers Franck Brinsolaro, who acted
as Charb's bodyguard, and Ahmed Merabet,
42, who was shot dead
Source:BBC