French supermarket attack: Suspect shot dead as authorities confirm three deaths

Latest: An armed man took hostages in a supermarket in southern France, killing three people and injuring about a dozen others before being shot dead when French police stormed the market, authorities have said.

Update 7.30pm:A gun-wielding extremist unleashed bloodshed in a quiet corner of southern France, killing three people as he hijacked a car, opened fire on police and took hostages in a supermarket.

The 26-year-old attacker, who called himself a "soldier of Islamic State" when he entered the supermarket, was killed as police stormed the store with the help of an officer who had switched places with a hostage and suffered life-threatening wounds - one of 16 people injured.