The Latest on the Islamic attack in southern France (all times local):

French authorities say a 17-year-old male friend of an attacker who killed hostages in a supermarket in southern France last week has been released uncharged from custody.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said the youth was freed Tuesday “in the absence of incriminating elements at this stage.”

A witness told investigators the young man was a “very good friend” of 25-year-old gunman Radouane Lakdim and was under his religious influence.

The youth, who denied any involvement in the attacks during his questioning, had been in custody since hours after Lakdim killed four people in a rampage Friday before being killed by police who stormed the supermarket in Trebes.

After being questioned by police, Lakdim’s girlfriend was to face French investigating judges later Tuesday night. The prosecutor’s office has asked them to charge her with criminal terrorist association.

French lawmakers have paid tribute to the victims of an Islamic extremist attack at a supermarket in southern France.

Lawmakers at the National Assembly in Paris observed a minute of silence Tuesday for the four people who died in Friday’s attack.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said since January 2015, French intelligence services have thwarted 51 attacks. In addition, 17 other attacks have failed and 11 have taken place.

He says “this is a difficult combat we will have to fight, a terrible combat, a hand-to-hand struggle, in which we will have successes — we had some — and in which we might have failures.”

A national memorial is being held Wednesday in Paris to honor Lt-Col. Arnaud Beltrame, the officer who lost his life after swapping himself with a hostage. </s> Gunman Killed By Police After Killing 3, Injuring 16 In Southern France

French authorities say a man who took hostages in a supermarket in southern France, killed three people and wounded 16 others is now dead. </s> French authorities say a police operation is taking place in a small town in southern France after a police officer was shot and wounded.

A suspect has been surrounded at a supermarket in the town of Trebes, south of Toulouse, and might have taken hostages, national police said.

The French Interior Ministry said on its Twitter account Friday that police and rescue operations are the priority.

Authorities in the Aude region are warning people to avoid the area around the supermarket. </s> PARIS (AP) — French authorities say a police operation is taking place in a small town in southern France after a police officer was shot and wounded.

A suspect has been surrounded at a supermarket in the town of Trebes, south of Toulouse, and might have taken hostages, national police said.

The French Interior Ministry said on its Twitter account Friday that police and rescue operations are the priority.

Authorities in the Aude region are warning people to avoid the area around the supermarket.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> TREBES (France)
• Three people were killed in a terrorist attack in France yesterday when a gunman held up a car, opened fire on police and then took hostages in a supermarket, screaming "Allahu Akbar".

The gunman first hijacked a car, killing one person and wounding another. He then fired on police officers in Carcassonne, wounding an officer in the shoulder before heading to Trebes about 8km to the east, where two more people were killed at the Super-U supermarket.

Police later stormed the supermarket in the small south-western town of Trebes. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb later said on Twitter that the attacker had been killed. Two police officers were hurt in the operation, a source said.

Mr Collomb named the gunman, who was killed by police, as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim, a small-time drug dealer.

Security sources had said the gunman was believed to be a Moroccan who was on a watch list of suspected extremists, but Mr Collomb did not confirm his nationality.

A source at the Interior Ministry said that while two people had died so far during the hostage-taking, the number of fatalities could go up.

"It is a provisional assessment as it could unfortunately get worse. Three people are wounded, including one of them seriously," the source said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said security forces were securing the area.

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, where he was attending a European Union summit meeting, Mr Macron said: "We believe that it is indeed a terror attack."

BFM TV station reported that the hostage-taker had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and that he had demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam - the prime surviving suspect in the ISIS attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in 2015.

A 45-year-old lieutenant-colonel swapped himself in exchange for one of the hostages, a source close to the investigation said later, confirming information first published by Le Figaro newspaper.

The officer was one of the policemen injured during the operation to kill the gunman.

Mr Eric Menassi, the mayor of Trebes, told LCI TV that the man had entered the shop in Trebes screaming "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest), I'll kill you all".

Ms Carole (only first name given), who was shopping at the supermarket, described how people had taken refuge in a cold room.

"A man shouted and fired several times. I saw a cold room door, I asked people to come and take shelter," she told Franceinfo radio. "There were 10 of us, and we stayed for an hour. There were more gunshots and we went out the back door."

For the French authorities, what was particularly alarming about the events yesterday was that the area targeted was quiet and provincial, far from the big cities that have typically attracted terrorist violence.

"This can strike no matter where, no matter when, no matter how," said police union official Yves Lefebvre, speaking on Europe 1 radio.

The EU offers its full support to the French people, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said.

More than 240 people have been killed in France since 2015 in attacks by assailants who pledged allegiance to, or were inspired by, ISIS. </s> A French police officer who swapped himself for a hostage in a supermarket siege on Friday has died, officials say.

Lt-Col Arnaud Beltrame had been hailed as a hero by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The gendarme helped bring an end to a gunman's shooting spree that killed three in southern France.

The radical Islamist gunman, 25-year-old Redouane Lakdim, was shot dead as police brought the siege to an end.

Announcing the police officer's death on Twitter, Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said: "He died for his country. France will never forget his heroism, his bravery, his sacrifice."

Earlier, Mr Macron had revealed that Lt-Col Beltrame had suffered serious injuries and was fighting for his life in hospital.

Sixteen people were injured, two seriously, in what Mr Macron called an act of "Islamist terrorism".

Lakdim was said to have demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the most important surviving suspect in the 13 November 2015 attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people.

One person - believed to be Lakdim's partner - has been arrested in connection with the shootings. </s> A vegan activist is facing a lawsuit after she made a Facebook post praising the death of a butcher who was shot in the supermarket attack in the French city of Trebes.

"Well, are you shocked by the death of an assassin who was killed by the terrorist? I am personally not. In my opinion, justice has been imposed this way," the woman wrote, commenting on what had happened.

The lawsuit was filed by the French union of meat manufacturers (CFBCT), who accused the vegan activist of justifying terrorism.

On March 23, Radouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old French citizen of Moroccan descent, shot at police officers near the city of Carcassonne and afterwards took hostages in a Super U supermarket in Trebes. Media reported that the jihadist pledged allegiance to Daesh and demanded the release of the only surviving attacker involved in the November 2015 Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam. Four people were killed and 16 others were wounded during the shooting spree before Lakdim was himself shot by police. </s> At least one person is dead after a gunman claiming allegiance to ISIS shot at police officers and took hostages at a supermarket in the south of France, according to reports.

There are reports two people have been killed.

The suspect was heard shouting ‘Vengeance for Syria!’ before launching the rampage in Trebes, close to Carcassonne, in the Aube department.

The drama unfolded shortly after 11am and police have now surrounded a branch of Super U in the town, where a butcher was reportedly killed.

A riot police officer who was out for a jog was shot and wounded before about eight hostages were taken at the shop. </s> Paris: A French prosecutor said the girlfriend of an attacker who killed hostages in a supermarket in southern France last week was a radicalised convert to Islam and that she shouted "Allahu akbar," or "God is Great," when she was arrested.

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said the 18-year-old woman "shows all signs of radicalisation."

She was taken into custody hours after the 25-year-old Morocco-born gunman, Radouane Lakdim, killed four people on Friday before being killed by police who stormed the supermarket in Trebes.

The teenager told investigators that she converted to Islam when she was 16. She denied "having been informed and associated with the deadly project of her boyfriend," Molins said during a news conference.

But Molins said she posted online a Koran verse "indicating that infidels were promised to hell" just a few hours before the attacks.
Four people are killed and 16 wounded when an extremist takes hostages in Trèbes, France. The suspect is killed by police.