Man claiming al Qaeda link takes hostages in France

TOULOUSE, France, June 20 (Reuters) - A man claiming to be a member of al Qaeda has taken several hostages in a bank in the southwestern French city of Toulouse, a police union source said on Wednesday.

The source said the man had fired a shot and could be holding up to four people. The Interior Ministry was not immediately available to comment.

In March, an al Qaeda-inspired gunman shot dead three soldiers, a rabbi and three Jewish children in Toulouse. The man was later shot dead by police after a standoff at his home in the city.

(Reporting by Guillaume Serries and Gerard Bon in Paris; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Janet Lawrence)