UPDATE

PARIS: A priest taken hostage in a church in Normandy, northern France, was killed with a blade, a police source told Reuters on Tuesday.

The source said it looked like the priest had had his throat slit.

Two assailants who had taken five people hostage in the church at Saint-Etienne-du -Rouvray near Rouen were killed in a police operation to end the assault.

French President Francois Hollande is expected at the scene, his office said.

Two knifemen take several hostages in French church

PARIS: Two men armed with blades took several people hostage in a church in France's northern Normandy region on Tuesday, two police sources said. on Tuesday, two police sources said.

One said between four and six people were being held by the assailants in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The second source said five people had been taken hostage.

Live TV images showed police had blocked off the roads around the church and paramedics were seen pulling stretchers out of ambulances.

The hostages included a priest, two nuns and two worshippers according to BFM TV.