【BBC】

France shooting : Hostage swap officer

'fighting for life'

-3 hours ago-

Lt-Col Beltrame took the place ofa

woman being used as a human

shield by gunman Redouane Lakdim

A police officer who swapped himself

for a hostage in a supermarket siege

is fighting for his life in hospital,

French President Emmanuel Macron

says.

The gendarme, whom media named

as Lt-Col Arnaud Beltrame, helped

bring an end to a gunman's shooting

spree that killed three in southern

France.

The gunman - 25 - year - old Redouane

Lakdim  said

he had been acting on behalf of the

Islamic State group.