Yemen's al-Qaida claims responsibility for Paris attack

CAIRO (AP) -- Yemen's al-Qaida branch on Wednesday claimed responsibility for last week's deadly attack on a Paris satirical newspaper, with one of its top commanders saying the assault was in revenge for the weekly's publications of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, considered an insult in Islam.<br /> <br /> The claim came in a video posting by Nasr al-Ansi, a top commander of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP as the branch is known, which appeared on the group's Twitter account.<br /> <br /> In the 11-minute video, al-Ansi says the assault on Charlie Hebdo, which killed 12 people - including editors, cartoonists and journalists, as well as two police officers - was in "revenge for the prophet."<br /> <br /> He said AQAP "chose the target, laid out the plan and financed the operation" against the weekly, though he produced no evidence to support the claim.<br /> <br /> The assault was the beginning of three days of terror in France that saw 17 people killed before the perpetrators, three Islamic extremist attackers, were gunned down by security forces.<br /> <br /> The two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, who carried out the Charlie Hebdo attack were "heroes," al-Ansi said.<br /> <br /> "Congratulations to you, the Nation of Islam, for this revenge that has soothed our pain," said al-Ansi. "Congratulations to you for these brave men who blew off the dust of disgrace and lit the torch of glory in the darkness of defeat and agony."<br /> <br /> Al-Ansi accused France of belonging to the "party of Satan" and said the European country "shared all of America's crimes" against Muslims - a reference to France's military offensive in Mali.<br /> <br /> He also warned of more "tragedies and terror" in the future.<br /> <br /> Washington considers AQAP as al-Qaida most dangerous offshoots. Formed in 2009 as a merger between the terror group's Yemeni and Saudi branches, AQAP has been blamed for a string of unsuccessful bomb plots against American targets.<br /> <br /> These include a foiled plan to down a Detroit-bound airliner in 2009 using a new type of explosive hidden in the bomber's underwear, and another attempt a year later to send mail bombs hidden in toner cartridges on planes bound to the U.S. from the Gulf.<br /> <br /> The Charlie Hebdo strike is the Yemen-based branch's first successful strike outside its home territory - and a triumph for its trademark double-strategy of waging jihad in Yemen to build its strength to strike abroad.<br /> <br /> At least one of the two brothers involved in the attack on the weekly traveled to Yemen in 2011 and either received training from or fought alongside the group, authorities say. A U.S. intelligence assessment described to the Associated Press shows that 34-year-old Said Kouachi was trained in preparation to return home and carry out an attack.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />