Kidnappers took hostages in a church, police neutralized them

Two knife-wielding attackers took several nuns and several worshippers hostage in a church in northern France, and one hostage was killed, a police source said, while police said they had 'neutralized' the attackers, but it is not yet clear whether they were killed or arrested, the Patria agency reports.

Two armed men entered the church in the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in northern France around 11 a.m., local media reported, as cited by the BBC and Reuters.

The attackers were armed with knives, and they took several worshippers, two nuns and a priest hostage in the church after entering through the back entrance, as Le Figaro reports.

Special forces arrived on the scene, as did French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.