Two brothers were tonight named as being among the three suspects involved in a deadly terrorist attack on an anti-Islamist newspaper in France.
Photo: The three men were named as Said Kouachi (top), his brother Cherif Kouachi (bottom), and Hamyd Mourad of Gennevilliers
The Masked gunmen had stormed Paris headquarters with AK-47s shouting 'Allahu akbar!' and 'the Prophet has been avenged'
They stalked the building asking for people's names before killing the editor, three renowned cartoonists and the deputy chief editor - men who had regularly satirised Islam.
Editor Stephane Charbonnier had famously shrugged off threats, saying: 'I'd rather die standing than live kneeling'
The gunmen escaped in a hijacked car and remained on the loose this evening after a shootout with police.
President Barack Obama offered U.S. help in pursuing the gunmen, saying they had attacked freedom of expression.
Said Kouachi, 34, and Cherif Kouachi, 32, were identified along with Hamyd Mourad, 18, all French nationals.
The suspected Al Qaeda militants massacred 12 people in Paris today - and among those slaughtered was a police officer as he begged for mercy.
Thousands of people gathered tonight at the Republique Square near the scene to honour the victims, holding signs reading 'Je suis Charlie' - 'I am Charlie'.
A police officer pleads for mercy on the pavement in Paris before being shot in the head by masked gunmen during an attack on the headquarters of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, a notoriously anti-Islamic publication
People gather around candles and pens to keep vigil at the Place de la Republique in Paris in support of the victims after the terrorist attack
People gather in Toulouse tonight to show their solidarity for the victims of the attack
People hold up pens and posters reading 'I am Charlie' in French as they take part in a vigil in Trafalgar Square, London
Faces of the victims: Among the journalists killed were (l to r) Charlie Hebdo's deputy chief editor Bernard Maris and cartoonists Georges Wolinski, Jean Cabut, aka Cabu, Stephane Charbonnier, who is also editor-in-chief, and Bernard Verlhac, also known as Tignous