Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Charlie Hebdo Attack

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Jan 15, 2015

Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Charlie Hebdo Attack

The Al Qaeda in Yemen has said they attacked the French satirical newspaper last week.

The group said they attacked in retaliation for insults to the Prophet Muhammad, according to a video posted on YouTube posted this week.

Officials are working to determine if the video is authentic.

"As for the blessed Battle of Paris, we...claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the Messenger of God," Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, an AQAP ideologue, said in the video.

Ansi said the "one who chose the target, laid the plan and financed the operation is the leadership of the organization.”

Twelve people were killed in the attack at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices last week. Gunmen reportedly opened fire on the newspaper staff after forcing a Charlie Hebdo cartoonist to open the doors for them.

The alleged financier of the attack is Anwar al-Awlaki, an al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula propagandist who was killed in 2011 by a US drone. The al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula is on of al Qaeda’s most dangerous branches, according to officials.

Reportedly, Nigeria’s Boko Haram group released a video in support of the attack.

“We have felt joy for what befell the people of France in terms of torment, as their blood was spilled inside their country. Allah is Great!" Abubakar Shekau said in the recording.

Publication date: January 15, 2015



Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Charlie Hebdo Attack