Gunman holds two hostage in French post office: police

French Research and Intervention Brigades (BRI) policemen officers prepare near the post office where an armed man is holed up with two hostages on Jan 16, 2015, in Colombes, outside Paris, though there is no known link with last week's jihadist atta
French Research and Intervention Brigades (BRI) policemen officers prepare near the post office where an armed man is holed up with two hostages on Jan 16, 2015, in Colombes, outside Paris, though there is no known link with last week's jihadist attacks. -- PHOTO: AFP

NANTERRE (AFP/REUTERS) - An armed man was holed up in a post office outside Paris on Friday with two hostages, police said, though there is no known link with last week's jihadist attacks.

Police cordoned off the area in Colombes, a city northwest of Paris, and a helicopter was flying overhead.

"I cannot confirm or deny whether it is linked to terrorism," an official at the city prosecutor's office told Reuters

BFM TV said the incident was not deemed terrorist-related.

French police arrested 12 people earlier on Friday suspected of helping militant Islamist gunmen in last week's killings in Paris. There have been numerous false alerts across the city since the attacks.

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