Four face charges over links to Coulibaly

Four men are to appear before a judge in Paris on suspicion of supporting one of the gunmen behind the Islamist attacks in France that killed 17.

The men, aged 22 to 28, are expected to be placed under formal investigation. Continue..

They are suspected of having links to Amedy Coulibaly, who murdered four people at a Jewish supermarket and is believed to have shot a policewoman.

Meanwhile, a Malian employee who helped shoppers during the supermarket siege is to receive French nationality.

Lassana Bathily, a 24-year-old Muslim, hid customers inside a basement cold store when Coulibaly stormed the store and took people hostage.

He will receive a French passport at a ceremony in his honour on Tuesday after his application was fast-tracked.

Coulibaly killed four Jewish hostages on 9 January before being shot dead by police.

He claimed to have acted in cooperation with Cherif and Said Kouachi, brothers who began the three days of attacks in Paris on 7 January when they burst into the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, killing 12 people.

Twelve people were arrested in police raids on Friday and questioned about "possible logistical support" - such as weapons or vehicles - they could have given the three gunmen, police said.

Three of the women detained were freed on Saturday and five people were released overnight on Tuesday.

Four remaining suspects were due to appear before an anti-terror magistrate on Tuesday who would decide whether to place them under formal investigation, the Paris prosecutors' office said.

Almost 15,000 extra police and troops have been mobilised to boostsecurity across France since the attacks.

Hundreds of soldiers are also being deployed across Belgium following a series of anti-terror raids and arrests.

Mr Bathily, a shop assistant, is being given citizenship in France after a petition was circulated calling for him to be awarded a passport following his actions to during the supermarket siege.

He has lived in France for nine years and applied for citizenship last year.

• Wednesday 7 January 10:30 - Two masked gunmen enter Charlie Hebdo offices, killing 11 people, including the magazine's editor. Shortly after the attack, the gunmen kill a police officer nearby.
• 11:00 - Police lose track of the men after they abandon their getaway car and hijack another vehicle. They are later identified as brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi.
• Thursday 8 January 08:45 - A lone gunman shoots dead a policewoman and injures a man in the south of Paris. Gunman later identified as Amedy Coulibaly.
• 10:30 - The Kouachi brothers rob a service station near Villers-Cotterets, in the Aisne region, but disappear again.
• Friday 9 January 08:30 - Police exchange gunfire with the Kouachi brothers during a car chase on the National 2 highway northeast of Paris.
• 10:00 - Police surround the brothers at an industrial building in at Dammartin-en-Goele, 35km (22 miles) from Paris.
• 12:15 - Coulibaly reappears and takes several people hostage at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris. Heavily-armed police arrive and surround the store.
• 16:00 - Kouachi brothers come out of the warehouse, firing at police. They are both shot dead.
• 16:15 - Police storm the kosher supermarket in Paris, killing Coulibaly and rescuing 15 hostages. The bodies of four hostages are recovered.