2 attackers 'neutralised', priest killed in France church attack

4 to 6 people were held hostage by the assailants in France's Normandy region, 1 in critical condition

In a string of deadly assaults in Europe, two men armed with knives slit a priest’s throat and took four to six people hostage in a church in France’s northern Normandy region, a police source said Tuesday. 

The French Interior Ministry said that police units from Rouen have "neutralised" two hostage takers in the attack.
 

The France 3 network said a priest, two sisters and churchgoers were among those held by the assailants in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, a southern suburb of Rouen located 128 kilometres north-west of Paris. 
 

One of the hostage is in a critical condition, according to the Interior Ministry. 

While the situation inside the church is unknown, RTL radio quoted emergency services saying several people had been injured.
 

Both France President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve are on-route to the site of the attack.
 

Live telecast in several broadcast channels have shown that police has blocked the roads around the church and paramedics are in full operation with several ambulances and stretchers. 
 

This incident comes 12 days after a 31-year-old Tunisian killed 84 people in Nice when he ploughed his truck into a crowd.