Al-Qaeda in Yemen claims directing Paris attacks as ‘revenge’ – reports
A statement sent to several media outlets by an alleged member of Al-Qaeda in Yemen claims the terrorist group is responsible for the Charlie Hebdo shooting and carried it out as a “revenge for the honor” of Prophet Muhammad.
READ MORE: Police release footage of dramatic assault on Charlie Hebdo suspects (VIDEO)
AP and The Intercept quoted a statement sent to them by a source
within Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), commonly
referred to as Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
The statement, provided on condition of anonymity, says “the
leadership of AQAP directed the operations and they have chosen
their target carefully as a revenge for the honor of Prophet
[Muhammad].” It directly refers to the Wednesday attack on
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which resulted in 12
people killed.
BREAKING: Member of al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen says the group directed the attack on French magazine.
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 9, 2015
However, it goes on to explain that the attack targeted not just
the controversial outlet, but France in general “because of
its obvious role in the war on Islam and oppressed nations.”
The “operation” was in line with threats voiced by Sheikh Usama
(the late Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden) to the West about
“the consequences of the persistence in the blasphemy against
Muslim sanctities.”
“If there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let
your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions,” The
Intercept quotes the statement as saying.
According to the source, the group had not claimed responsibility
for the attack earlier “due to the executors’ security
reasons.”
Al-Qaeda’s ‘message to the West’
The statement of the terrorist group’s affiliate, which is currently headed by Nasir al-Wuhayshi and is considered to be Al-Qaeda’s most proactive and dangerous branch, reportedly contains a chilling message to Western powers regarding their Middle Eastern policies.
AQAP allegedly promises a “dear price” and “severe
punishment” for “touching Muslims’ sanctity and
protecting those who blaspheme.”
The group then threatens that “the crimes of the Western
countries, above them America, Britain and France will backfire
deep in their home.”
The statement boasts success in Al-Qaeda’s “policy of hitting
the snake’s head” – which appears to be a metaphor for the
group’s terror attacks inside the countries that led military
invasions into Muslim states and confronted or hunted down
Al-Qaeda militants.
It praises the leadership of Ayman al-Zawahiri – the current head
of Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden’s successor – and the jihadists
“media policies.” Al-Qaeda’s glossy outlet Inspire is
mentioned in particular, as it published the name of the killed
French cartoonist Stéphane “Charb” Charbonnier in a wanted
“dead or alive” list for caricatures of Prophet
Muhammad.
Meanwhile, one of the leading figures in AQAP, Sheikh Hareth al-Nadhari, had his new comments regarding the Charlie Hebdo attack posted on YouTube, Reuters reported.
According to the clip, the Wednesday massacre in France was prompted by “insults to the prophets” and carried out by “the faithful soldiers of God.” Al-Nadhari, however, stopped short of claiming responsibility for directing the attack.
The manhunt for Charlie Hebdo terror attack suspects Cherif and
Said Kouachi dramatically ended on Friday. Both were killed in a
shootout with police in Dammartin-en-Goele printworks north-east
of Paris, while one policeman was injured. A worker who was taken
hostage by the attackers was freed.
However, there arose separate hostage situations, with at least
one of them carried out by Kouachi-linked gunman Amedy Coulibaly.
Coulibaly, a man of West African appearance who had also been
wanted for the murder of a female police officer on Thursday,
claimed that he was linked to the Islamic State (formerly
ISIS/ISIL) jihadist group and “synchronized” his actions
with the Kouachis in a brief prerecorded interview with French
channel BFMTV.
After killing four and taking 16 more people hostage at a kosher
grocery store in Paris, Coulibaly demanded freedom for the
Kouachi brothers besieged by police at the time. Security forces
stormed the store with the help of a flash grenade and shot the
hostage taker dead.
READ MORE: Four killed in Paris store hostage crisis, Charlie Hebdo suspects also dead
Coulibaly’s wife and alleged accomplice Hayat Boumeddiene has
been put on the police wanted list and is currently at large.
Boumeddiene had exchanged about 500 phone calls with a companion
of one of the Kouachi brothers, according to authorities.
Meanwhile in the southern city of Montpellier, a gunman took two
women hostage at a jewellery store without making any demands.
The man’s motives were still unclear after he surrendered to
police following nearly nine hours of negotiations, letting the
hostages go unharmed. Local authorities denied the incident had
any connection to this week’s terror attacks.
READ MORE: Hostages freed in jewelry store in Montpellier, France (VIDEO)
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Friday said that he is not ruling out the possibility of more terrorist attacks against the country.
“France has faced an unprecedented level of terrorism. We cannot exclude the possibility of new attacks against the country. France leads a real war against terrorism,” Valls said in a statement.
There are up to 1,400 French citizens linked to jihad groups, Valls said, RIA Novosti cited local channel TF1. “We are talking about hundreds of people who are trained in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan or Yemen. This is a significant number, from 1,200 to 1,400 people.”
