Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, has formally claimed responsibility for last week’s attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 people in Paris.
A video statement by AQAP’s media outlet, said the assault by “two heroes of Islam” was in response to Charlie Hebdo’s caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. It said the attack was ordered by Al Qa’eda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri: “The one who chose the target, laid the plan and financed the operation is the leadership of the organization.”
AQAP accompanied the video with a print statement to reporters. Both said the US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, killed by an American drone strike in September, made the general “arrangement” for attacks with those who carried out the operation in Paris.
Said Kouachi, one of the two gunmen in the Charlie Hebdo attack, reportedly met al-Awlaki during a 2011 visit to Yemen
See EA Audio Analysis: After Charlie Hebdo and Paris Killings, How Should We Respond to Terror?
EA Audio Analysis: The Killings at Charlie Hebdo Magazine in Paris
