Yemen’s al-Qaida branch officially claimed responsibility for last week’s attack on the Paris offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, saying it was an “act of vengeance” for the Prophet Muhammad.

Charlie Hebdo regularly publishes anti-religious pieces and has several times published illustrations featuring the prophet, an act many Muslims consider sacrilegious.

On Wednesday, the magazine put out its first edition since last week’s attack, with a cover that featured a cartoon illustration of a weeping Prophet Muhammad on the cover, along with the line “All is Forgiven.” The issue has been selling out across France.

In a video posted online Wednesday, a man identified as Nasr al-Ansi, a top leader of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, said his group planned and financed the Charlie Hebdo attack that killed 12 people. 

“As for the blessed Battle of Paris, we, the Organization of al-Qaida al Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the Messenger of God,” Ansi said in the recording.

AQAP leadership

Ansi, the main ideologue for AQAP, said the “one who chose the target, laid the plan and financed the operation is the leadership of the organization,” without naming an individual.

He added, without elaborating, that the strike was carried out in “implementation” of the order of overall al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri, who has called for strikes by Muslims in the West using any means they can find.

AQAP itself is led by Nasser al-Wuhayshi, who is also Zawahri’s No. 2 in the network’s global hierarchy.

“We did it in compliance with the command of Allah and supporting His Messenger, peace be upon Him,” Ansi added.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the recording, which carried the logo of the al-Qaida’s media group, al-Malahem.

Attackers

French police killed the Charlie Hebdo attackers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, on Friday, the same day another Islamic militant, Amedy Coulibaly, killed four Jewish victims at the kosher supermarket in eastern Paris before being killed by police. Coulibaly had also killed a French policewoman one day earlier.

The al-Qaida in Yemen leader said Coulibaly was not operating as a part of the group and that his actions were a coincidence.

Meanwhile, France ordered prosecutors around the country Wednesday to crack down on hate speech, anti-Semitism and glorifying terrorism, announcing that 54 people had been arrested for those offenses since the Paris terror attacks.

French comedian Dieudonne was arrested Wednesday for defending terrorism, after posting a statement on social media that seemed to support last week’s attackers.

Dieudonne has won notoriety with his outspokenness in the past, most notably for popularizing an arm gesture deemed by some to be anti-Semitic because it resembles the Nazi salute.

Like many European countries, France has strong laws against hate speech and especially anti-Semitism in the wake of the Holocaust.

In Turkey, police guarded the offices of secular newspaper Cumhuriyet Wednesday, after it included a four-page pullout section featuring some of the cartoons and editorials featured in the new Charlie Hebdo edition.

Several million copies of the issue were being printed — a huge jump from its usual 60,000 per week.

The editor-in-chief has said that print copies will stay on sale for two weeks, and the online edition will be available in English, Spanish and Arabic as well as French.

Funerals on Tuesday

On Tuesday, families and colleagues of three French police officers killed in last week’s terror attacks in Paris paid their respects at a memorial service. French President Francois Hollande stood before the flag-draped coffins and praised their heroism, granting the officers posthumously the nation’s prestigious Legion of Honor award.

In Jerusalem, funerals were held for four Jewish victims of last week’s terror spree.

French police are still seeking Hayat Boumeddiene, the girlfriend of Coulibaly. Police initially thought she was in the supermarket, but a Turkish news agency has aired security camera footage from an Istanbul airport appearing to show Boumeddiene entering the country on January 2.

Turkish officials believe she now may be in Syria.

Authorities say France remains at high risk for terrorism and is deploying 10,000 troops to help police with security at so-called “sensitive sites.” Those include Jewish schools, synagogues and mosques.

Some material for this report came from Reuters.
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