Al Qaeda in Yemen claims responsibility for Paris attack

Al Qaeda in
Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attack on
French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo,
according to a recent report.
Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, a leader of the Yemeni
branch of al Qaeda (AQAP) in the report, said the
attack was ordered by its leadership for insulting
the Prophet Mohammad,
``As for the blessed Battle of Paris, we, the
Organisation of al Qaeda al Jihad in the Arabian
Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation as
vengeance for the Messenger of God," he said.
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 organisation",
without naming an individual.
He added, without elaborating, that the strike was
carried out in "implementation" of the order of
overall al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, who
had 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 number two 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 Qaeda's media group al-Malahem.
Gunmen killed a total of 17 people in three days of
violence that began when they opened fire at
Charlie Hebdo in revenge for its past publication of
satirical images of the Prophet.
The first edition of Charlie Hebdo published after
last week's attacks sold out within minutes at
newspaper kiosks around France on Wednesday.
People were reported to have queued up to buy
copies to support the satirical weekly. (Reuters/
NAN)