French detectives are continuing to search for fugitives suspected to have been involved in the Paris massacres, as details of how police foiled the terrorists’ operations have begun to unfold.

As the French hostage crisis came to a bloody end last night with the loss of 20 lives, al-Qaeda claimed it had directed the attack against the satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’ in Paris "as revenge for the honour" of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

French President Francois Hollande has called on the country to “remain vigilant” as the hostage crisis which started at the Charlie Hebdo magazine massacre came to a bloody end with the loss of at least 20 lives.

Gunfire and explosions have been heard in Dammartin-en-Goele where two brothers, believed to be responsible for the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris, are holding a hostage.