France: 1 dead, several wounded in siege in Roubaix on Belgium border following bank robbery

Update 22:30: The siege in a residential area of Roubaix is now over and all the hostages - including a one-year-old baby - freed unharmed, police have said. One gunman was shot dead by police and another arrested. The incident is not thought to be linked with terrorism.

Original story: Several people have sustained gunshot wounds in the French town of Roubaix near the Belgium border and hostages have been taken. It is unclear who is behind the attacks or whether there is any connection with the Paris attacks and ongoing terror threat in Belgium, but that now seems unlikely.

"An operation is underway after hostages were taken. Gunshots were fired and the neighbourhood has been cordoned off," a police source told Reuters. "A bank director and his family may have been taken as hostages." French media are reporting the incident appears to be linked with criminal actions rather than terrorism. A robbery took place before the hostages were taken at around 18.00 local time (19.00 GMT).

Roubaix is a small town an hour west of Brussels on the French side of the border. It is home to Mohamed Khoualed, the suspected bomb-maker of the Paris attacks. Due to its location there had been fears that terrorists linked to the attacks might have been involved.