Two men armed with knives have been shot dead after taking several people hostage in a church in northern France.

Police said one of the hostages - a priest - has been killed with a blade during the attack in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy.

A total of five people were being held by the knifemen in the place of worship, according to the Reuters news agency, citing a police source.

The source says the priest appears to have had his throat slit.

The assailants got in through the back door of the church and took the priest, two nuns and two parishioners hostage during morning mass.
French media reports shots being fired as police confirmed both captors have been "neutralised".

Le Figaro is reporting several others have been injured during the attack.

It says one of the hostages managed to escape during the hours-long ordeal and raised the alarm.

TV footage at the scene shows one person being stretchered into an awaiting ambulance, surrounded by police cars and fire engines.

A police cordon has been set up and several police officers - some in plain clothes - can be seen talking on mobile phones.

The motive for Tuesday's attack, which is being investigated by anti-terrorism chiefs, is unknown.

French President Francois Hollande Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve is on his way to the scene - which comes just days after the Bastille Day massacre in Nice which left 84 people dead.

France has been under a state of emergency since the terror attacks in Paris in November last year.

Source: AFP