Eleven Killed in Gun Attack on French Magazine

An attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has claimed at least 11 lives and has left ten people wounded, according to officials.

Five of those injured are in a critical condition, AFP officials say.

A major operation is under way in Paris as police are seeking to hunt down the perpetrators, the BBC reports.

French prosecutors say armed men broke into Charlie Hebdo's headquarters and opened fire on employees.

A witness is quoted by French TV channel iTELE as saying the black-hooded man were carrying Kalashnikov rifles.

Officials are considering a number of hypothesis, one of them involving Islamic militants.

The incident unfolds shortly after the magazine released a cartoon of Abu Bakr al-Bahdadi, the leader of the Sunni militant group Islamic State (IS).

Meilleurs v?ux, au fait. pic.twitter.com/a2JOhqJZJM

? Charlie Hebdo (@Charlie_Hebdo_) January 7, 2015

Ther previous attack on Chalie Hebdo, which was fire-bombed in November 2011, came a day after publishing a cartoon involving the prophet Muhammad.