BREAKING NEWS: Several people wounded and hostages taken in service station

Several people have been wounded and hostages taken in a shootout between police and two Kalashnikov-wielding gunmen in a French town close to the Belgian border. The incident is taking place in Roubaix, a town which is about an hour west of Brussels, medical services say. One or more armed men have taken hostages after gun shots were fired. It was not immediately clear whether the gunmen were linked to the attacks in Paris on November 13.

A source told Reuters: 'An operation is underway after hostages were taken. Gunshots were fired and the neighbourhood has been cordoned off.' The town's mayor's office said the suspect or suspects 'carried out a robbery' after which they took hostages. A special police unit has been dispatched, the office said.

Reports suggest the situation began after a number of suspects were stopped at a security checkpoint. According to Reuters, children are among the hostages. Medical and fire services confirmed that an operation was underway without giving further details. Roubaix is where the suspected bomb-maker behind the Paris atrocities is originally from. Mohamed Khoualed is accused of supplying the suicide vests and detonators to ISIS militants, who killed 130 people as part of a series of coordinated gun and bomb attacks in the French capital.

Culled from Daily mail