Five killed in German hostage standoff - police

BERLIN (Reuters) - Five people were shot dead after a gunman facing eviction seized hostages in an apartment in the southern German city of Karlsruhe on Wednesday, police said.

The gunman, who possessed several hunting rifles, was thought to be among the dead, officers added.

"Special forces broke into the apartment after smelling smoke and found four dead bodies. Probably one of them is the gunman," a police spokesman told Reuters.

Police later said a fifth body had been also found and that one of the victims was a woman.

They declined to comment on German media reports that the hostages included a bailiff and two other people who had accompanied him to the building, one of whom may have been a locksmith.

"They all died of gunshot wounds," said the police spokesman.

After shots were heard, officers from the police special response unit, some dressed in protective green suits and helmets, sealed off the area around the building in the north part of the city.

Karlsruhe, with nearly 300,000 inhabitants, is located near the French border and is home to Germany's Constitutional Court. (Reporting by Elisa Oddone and Reuters TV; Writing by Gareth Jones and Madeline Chambers; Editing by Louise Ireland)