2 hostage takers in Normandy, "neutralised" - police source

Two men who took several people hostage in a church in France's northern Normandy region have been "neutralised", a police source said on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear if the assailants had been killed or taken alive during a police operation.

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.