Qaeda ‘responsible’ for Paris attack

The al-Qaeda militant group’s branch in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the January 7 attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Nasser al-Ansi, one of the chiefs of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), said in a video posted online that the deadly assault was carried out at the order of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Takfiri network’s global commander, in “vengeance” for the French weekly’s publishing of cartoons mocking Islam’s Prophet Mohammad.

“We, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation,” Ansi said in the video entitled, “A message regarding the blessed battle of Paris.”

“The leadership of [AQAP] was the party that chose the target and plotted and financed the plan... It was following orders by our general chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.”

He went on to say that the attackers, who are suspected to be two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, “were chosen and they answered the call.”

The French magazine has repeatedly provoked Muslims’ anger by printing cartoons deriding Prophet Mohammad.

The claim of responsibility came as five million copies of the new edition of Charlie Hebdo hit the newsstands on Wednesday, depicting a new cartoon of the Prophet on the cover amid warnings that the move is provocative.

The latest cover cartoon was drawn by one of the weekly’s cartoonists who survived the terrorist attack on the magazine’s offices, during which 12 people were killed.

The top Islamic authority in Egypt, Dar al-Ifta, has lashed out at the French satirical magazine over the provocative cartoon in its special edition.

Muslim communities in France have denounced the attack and called for calm and restraint.