Updated: Masked gunmen killed 12 and injured 5 in a Paris newspaper office

Twelve people are reportedly killed and five injured after a shooting at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper, after it published cartoons joking about Muslim leaders.

Masked men with AK-47s and pocket propelled grenades stormed and building and opened fire resulting in the deaths.

Police officers are said to be among the dead.

 

President Hollande who visited the scene of the shooting said the attack went against the spirit of the French Republic.  The security level in the city has been raised.

 

Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical weekly newspaper which features cantoons, reports, polemics and jokes - many mocking political figures.

 

The gunmen who attacked the newspaper office were said to have gone straight for the editorial department as soon as they arrived the building.

 

French media has speculated that the attack was carried out by Islamic militants.