Two dead in hostage-taking incident near Paris

Paris, Dec 18 (IANS) At least two people were killed following a hostage-taking incident in the French region of Val-d'Oise, about 20 km north of Paris, according to reports.French television BFM TV said in a report that the incident took place on Thursday evening in inside a company building located in the region's Domont department, Xinhua news agency.The manager of the company held his wife hostage. Several people were inside the building before the incident.At least two employees were injured by gunfire, the BFM TV report said.The man and his wife were in the process of separation and the latter had filed a complaint against him for acts of domestic violence. He had also previously been convicted on this ground, according to the report.In recent weeks, France saw several attacks. On September 25, a man armed with a knife wounded two people near the former office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for reprinting cartoons mocking Prophet Muhammad.A history teacher was beheaded outside a middle school in Paris suburbs on October 16. A sword-wielding man killed three people at a church in central Nice on October 29.
--IANS ksk/