A top leader of Yemen's al-Qaeda branch has
claimed responsibility for last week's attack
on Paris satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo
when two masked gunmen killed 12 people,
including much of the weekly's editorial staff,
and two police officers.
Nasr al-Ansi, a top commander of al-Qaeda in
the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP as the branch
is known, appeared in an 11-minute video
posted online on Wednesday, saying that the
massacre at Charlie Hebdo was in "vengeance
for the prophet".
Ansi said that France belongs to the "party of
Satan" and warned of more "tragedies and
terror". He said that Yemen's al-Qaeda branch
"chose the target, laid out the plan and
financed the operation".
Furthermore,
The paper had published cartoons of the
Prophet Muhammad, which is considered an
insult to Islam.
"We, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, claim
responsibility for this operation as vengeance
for the messenger of Allah," Ansi said in the
video entitled "A message regarding the
blessed battle of Paris."
AQAP was formed in January 2009 as a
merger of the Yemeni and Saudi branches of
al-Qaeda. Washington regards it as the
network's most dangerous branch and has
carried out a sustained drone war against its
leaders.
"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," Ansi said.
"The heroes were chosen and they answered
the call," he said.
Speaking over footage of the attack that killed
12 people, Ansi said: "Today, the mujahideen
avenge their revered prophet, and send the
clearest message to everyone who would dare
to attack Islamic sanctities."
Ansi referenced a warning by the late chief of
al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, who was killed by
US commandos in May 2011. "If the freedom
of your speech is not restrained, then you
should accept the freedom of our actions," he
said.
On Saturday, another senior AQAP member
Harith al-Nadhari also claimed responsibility
for the attack in an audio recording, saying
the shooting was an operation to teach the
French the limits of freedom of expression.
Charlie Hebdo had angered Muslims in the
past by printing cartoons lampooning
Muhammad and Islam.
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