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Charlie Hebdo attacks: suspects on US terrorist watchlist ‘for years’ Charlie Hebdo suspects on US terrorist watchlist ‘for years’
(35 minutes later)
Pressure is mounting on the French authorities to explain how Islamic extremists alleged to have carried out the deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were not prevented despite being well known to the intelligence services. Pressure is mounting on the French authorities to explain how Islamic extremists were allegedly able to carry out the deadly attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, despite being well known to the intelligence services.
US officials claimed that both of the suspects had been on a US terrorist watch list “for years” and one had travelled to the Yemen, possibly for training with an al-Qaida linked group, as recently as four years ago. American officials claimed that both of the suspects had been on a US terrorist watch list “for years” and one had travelled to Yemen, possibly for training with a group linked to al-Qaida, four years ago.
Cherif and Said Kouachi, who are alleged to have murdered 12 people in Paris on Wednesday, were both flagged in a US database as terrorism suspects, and were also on a no-fly list, meaning they were barred from flying into the US, American officials said.Cherif and Said Kouachi, who are alleged to have murdered 12 people in Paris on Wednesday, were both flagged in a US database as terrorism suspects, and were also on a no-fly list, meaning they were barred from flying into the US, American officials said.
The two men are the subject of a massive manhunt involving b nearly 90,000 police personnel. The focus of the pursuit shifted from the streets of the capital to the woods and marshes of rural Picardy, on Thursday. With helicopters buzzing overhead, black-uniformed members of the police special counter-terrorist unit, Raid, rolled along the country roads in armoured cars, combing the wooded hills of the area and going on foot from house to house in a cluster of villages east of the town of Villers-Cotterêts, 70 miles north-east of the capital. Residents in the villages of Longpont and Corcy were told to stay at home while the hunt was under way. The two men are the subject of a massive manhunt involving nearly 90,000 police staff. The focus of the pursuit shifted from the streets of the capital to the woods and marshes of rural Picardy on Thursday. With helicopters buzzing overhead, black-uniformed members of the police special counter-terrorist unit, Raid, rolled along the country roads in armoured cars, combing the wooded hills of the area and going on foot from house to house in a cluster of villages east of Villers-Cotterêts, 70 miles north-east of the capital. Residents in the villages of Longpont and Corcy were told to stay at home while the hunt was under way.
But questions are mounting over the country’s counter-terror strategy as more details emerged of the suspects’ pasts. One official told the Agence France-Presse that according to French intelligence, Said, the older of the two brothers, traveled to Yemen in 2011, where he received training from al-Qaida’s affiliate there in small arms combat and marksmanship. One official told Agence France-Presse that, according to French intelligence, Said, the older of the two brothers, travelled to Yemen in 2011, where he received training in small arms combat and marksmanship from al-Qaida’s affiliate there.
Authorities were already struggling to explain how they had lost track of the after it was revealed that Cherif, 32, had been imprisoned for 18 months for his role in a network sending volunteers to fight alongside al-Qaida militants in Iraq between 2003 and 2005 and had also been investigated after being implicated in a plot to break a jailed militant leader out of jail in 2010. Authorities were already struggling to explain how they had lost track of the pair after it was revealed that Cherif, 32, had been imprisoned for 18 months for his role in a network sending volunteers to fight alongside al-Qaida militants in Iraq between 2003 and 2005. He had also been investigated after being implicated in a plot to break a militant leader out of jail in 2010.
Manuel Valls, the French prime minister, told French media on Thursday that “there is never zero risk”, adding: “Hundreds of people are followed, dozens have been questioned, dozens have been jailed. That shows the difficulties facing our services: the number of individuals who pose a threat,” he said. The prime minister, Manuel Valls, told the media on Thursday that “there is never zero risk”, adding: “Hundreds of people are followed, dozens have been questioned, dozens have been jailed. That shows the difficulties facing our services: the number of individuals who pose a threat.”
The involvement of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap), a largely autonomous affiliate of the original group responsible for the 2001 9/11 attacks, was suggested in the hours after the attack. The involvement of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap), a largely autonomous affiliate of the group responsible for the 9/11 attacks in the US, was suggested in the hours after the attack.
One witness reported hearing the attackers mention “al-Qaida”. Another said one gunman had told him to “inform the media we are from al-Qaida in Yemen”. One witness reported hearing the attackers mention al-Qaida. Another said one gunman had told him to “inform the media we are from al-Qaida in Yemen”.
Aqap has been based in Yemen for around a decade after being forced out of Saudi Arabia. It has a proven track record of attempting to launch international strikes on the west. Aqap has been based in Yemen for about a decade after being forced out of Saudi Arabia. It has a track record of attempting to launch international strikes on the west.
French intelligence services are, however, understood to have told their UK counterparts that their initial investigation found nothing indicating any connection with the group. They are now working to “verify” the new information, an official said. French intelligence services are, however, understood to have told their British counterparts that the initial investigation found nothing indicating any connection with the group. They were now working to verify the new information, an official said.
French police and intelligence services were heavily criticised in 2012 after a 23-year-old French Muslim who had recently returned from Pakistan and Afghanistan went on a 10-day shooting spree, killing seven people. Police and intelligence services were heavily criticised in 2012 after a 23-year-old French Muslim who had recently returned from Pakistan and Afghanistan went on a 10-day shooting spree, killing seven people.
Though little is still known of the older of the two brothers, a picture of Cherif Kouachi’s links to a disorganised web of extremists stretching from the UK to Libya and Syria has become clearer. Though little is still known of Said Kouachi, information about Cherif’s links to a disorganised web of extremists stretching from the UK to Libya and Syria has become clearer. These include Djamal Beghal, a jailed militant described by Le Monde as Cherif’s mentor. Beghal was a key extremist organiser in the UK in the late 1990s and was connected to Abu Qatada, the London-based radical preacher deported after a long legal fight to Jordan in 2013.
These include Djamal Beghal, a jailed militant described by Le Monde as Kouachi’s mentor, who was a key extremist organiser in the UK in the late 1990s and was connected to Abu Qatada, the London-based radical preacher deported after a long legal struggle to Jordan in 2013. Beghal, jailed in France for 10 years in 2001 for planning to bomb the US embassy in Paris, was frequently seen at the Finsbury Park mosque in north London.
Beghal, jailed in France for 10 years in 2001 for planning to bomb the US embassy in Paris, was also frequently seen at the infamous Finsbury Park mosque in north London. He was photographed meeting Kouachi after his release in 2010. Both men were placed under surveillance when investigators discovered a plan to break out of prison the man behind a bombing at a Paris train station in 1995, which injured 30 people.
He was photographed meeting Kouachi after his release in 2010. Both men were placed under surveillance when investigators discovered a plan to break out of prison the man who masterminded a bombing at a train station in Paris in 1995, which injured 30 people. In about 2003, Cherif had became involved in a group known as the Buttes-Chaumont network, which sent about a dozen French fighters to camps linked to an al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq. Three of the group’s members were killed in action, several more were captured there and three, including Cherif, were arrested in France before leaving. The network was broken up by French authorities in 2005 and the preacher accused of being its ringleader sentenced to six years in prison.
In about 2003, Kouachi had became involved in a group known as the Buttes-Chaumont network, which sent about a dozen French fighters to camps linked to an al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq. Three of the group’s members were killed in action, several more were captured there and three, including Kouachi, were arrested in France before leaving. Cherif, who had been working as a pizza delivery driver, told the court during the trial in 2008 that he had been motivated to travel to Iraq by images of atrocities committed by US troops in Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.
The network was broken up by French authorities in 2005 and the preacher accused of being its ringleader sentenced to six years in prison. One former associate of Cherif recently surfaced in Tunisia, where he is believed to have killed a politician. Others fought in Iraq alongside Salim Benghalem, described by the US government as a “Syria-based French extremist and [Islamic State] executioner.
Kouachi, who had been working as a pizza delivery driver, told the court during the trial in 2008 that he had been motivated to travel to Iraq by images of atrocities committed by US troops in Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.
One former associate of Kouachi recently surfaced in Tunisia, where he is believed to have killed a local politician. Others fought in Iraq alongside Salim Benghalem, described by the US government as a “Syria-based French extremist and [Islamic State] executioner].
A third suspect in Wednesday’s Paris attack, 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, surrendered to police in the northern town of Charleville-Mézières on Wednesday.A third suspect in Wednesday’s Paris attack, 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, surrendered to police in the northern town of Charleville-Mézières on Wednesday.