The two suspects, French-born sons of Algerian-born parents in their early 30s, are held up inside a printing shop. Intelligence reports say that one of the brothers, Said Kouachi, was in Yemen in 2011 for religious studies. Some reports say he received weapons training from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) while in Yemen. One of the brothers was jailed for 18 months for trying to travel to Iraq to fight the American forces. American sources say that the two are on America’s ‘no-fly’ list.
Authorities in France have cornered the two suspects involved in the deadly shooting at Parisian satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. French anti-terrorism police this morning surrounded a small town about 25 miles from Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport.
Helicopters, armed military, and police personnel blocked all entries in and out of the town as they negotiated with the armed men. There are reports that the men have taken one person hostage.
The two suspects, French sons of Algerian-born parents in their early 30s, are held up inside a printing shop. Intelligence reports say that one of the brothers, Said Kouachi, was in Yemen in 2011 for religious studies. Some reports say he received weapons training from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) while in Yemen. One of the brothers was jailed for 18 months for trying to travel to Iraq to fight the American forces. American sources say that the two are on America’s ‘no-fly’ list.
In Wednesday’s attack at the office of Charlie Hebdo, the two brothers murdered 12 people, ten of whom were journalists with the weekly satirical newspaper.
The brothers shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) as they opened fire inside the newspaper office. French President Francois Hollande and other world leaders have described that attack as a threat to the fundamentals of democracy.
This was not the first time the weekly newspaper was targeted. In 2011, the office of the newspaper was fire bombed. The provocative newspaper is known for lampooning Islam, Christianity and Judaism.