French anti-terror police say gunmen who held 18 hostages at Primark store have escaped and are on the run near Paris

French anti-terror police say gunmen who held 18 hostages at Primark store have escaped and are on the run near Paris

Police are hunting a group of gunmen believed to be on the run near Paris after they held a group of workers hostage during an attempted robbery this morning.

After successfully rescuing 18 staff members who were trapped inside the building, police have turned their attention to tracking down the armed robbers.

The gunmen – one of whom was thought to be a Primark employee – were still on the loose this afternoon.

Although it was originally thought they were hidden inside the Qwartz mall in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, just north of Paris, it’s now believed they have escaped. […]

Officers at the scene said they were initially treating the incident as a ‘suspected armed robbery attempt’ but terrorism could not be ruled out.

The Paris region remains on high alert for terrorist activity after Islamic extremists attacked a kosher supermarket and satirical newspaper offices in January, leaving 20 people dead including the attackers.