At least one person is reportedly dead and several are injured after a shootout between police and the pair believed responsible for this week’s murder of 12 people in Paris.
Police believe the gunmen have now taken at least one hostage and holed up in a building in the town of Dammartin-en-Goele.
Gunfire has been exchanged between police and the two gunmen.
The drama initially unfolded on the National 2 highway several kilometres north of the Charles de Gaulle airport, almost 48 hours into a massive manhunt for the Islamist gunmen who attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices on Wednesday.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed a large scale operation was underway in Dammartin-en-Goele.
Local police have ordered residents of the small town to remain in their homes.
Police sources have told at least one hostage is being held in a building, believed to be a printing business, but it is not immediately clear how many people are being held hostage.
The suspects were holed up in a small printing business named CTD, a source close to the investigation said. “It’s not sure how many people are inside,” the source said.
