12 killed in Paris magazine office attack (Third Lead)

At least 12 people were killed Wednesday in a shooting at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, the office of Paris Prosecutor of the Republic confirmed, adding that four others were seriously wounded in the "terror attack".

France has raised anti-terrorism alert in the greater Paris area to the highest level after the shooting amid fears of eventual attacks in the region, because the perpetrators have fled away, raising risks of eventual shooting in the French capital, Xinhua reported.

"Without doubt, it's a terrorist attack against an office that has been threatened several times, which is why it was protected," French President Francois Hollande said after visiting the shooting scene.

"They (the perpetrators) will be hunted down and brought to justice," the president stressed.

France, the target of Islamist fighters in reprisal for its military strikes against Islamist strongholds in Iraq and the Sahel region, has aborted several terror attacks in recent weeks, Hollande said.

An emergency government meeting was due in the Elysee to evaluate the situation and take the adequate measures to avoid further attacks.

BBC and Sky News quoted witnesses as saying that a number of hooded men were involved in the horrific attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo.

A journalist told iTele network that he saw several masked armed men. They reportedly fired from automatic rifles.

A broadcast journalist with Europe1 News said the attackers were heard shouting "the Prophet has been avenged" before they fled.

The London-based Telegraph quoted a man as saying that the attackers escaped in two vehicles.

Charlie's latest tweet -- just about an hour before the attack -- was a cartoon of the IS militant leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The magazine was fire-bombed in November 2011, a day after it carried a caricature of Prophet Mohammed.