Pages

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Charlie Hebdo attack: France police hunt accomplices



Police in France are hunting for any accomplices of the gunmen who killed 17 people in two days of terror attacks.

One key figure is Hayat Boumeddiene, the partner of Amedy Coulibaly. He was
killed when police stormed a kosher supermarket in Paris.
She was said to be with Coulibaly when a policewoman was killed and is
described as "armed and dangerous".

Two gunmen who carried out Wednesday's deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo
magazine were killed by police.
President Francois Hollande praised the police but also warned of further
threats.

He thanked the security services for their "bravery and efficiency", saying the
week's violence was "a tragedy for the nation".
Mr Hollande said the danger was not over yet. "We have to be vigilant. I also
ask you to be united - it's our best weapon," he said in a televised address on
Friday night.

After a security cabinet meeting on Saturday Interior Minister Bernard
Cazeneuve said France would remain on its highest state of alert "for the next
few weeks".
Tight security would be in place for a unity march in Paris on Sunday, which will be attended by British and German as well as French leaders, added Mr Cazeneuve.

Crossbow

Francois Molins, the chief prosecutor in France, said authorities were urgently
focusing on Boumeddiene, who is suspected of being with Coulibaly, 32, when
the policewoman was killed in Paris on Thursday.

Both vanished after the shooting, but Coulibaly reappeared on Friday when he
took several people hostage at the Hypercasher supermarket near Porte de
Vincennes in eastern Paris.
Four shoppers were killed in the attack on the Jewish store, which took place
hours before the Sabbath.

French newspaper Le Monde published a series of photographs said to show
Coulibaly with Boumeddiene in 2010. In one, the 26-year-old woman is pictured
pointing a crossbow at the camera while wearing a full-face veil, which is
banned in France.

Mr Molins said the investigation would "focus on determining who their
accomplices were, how these criminal actions were financed, and all the
instruction and help they may have benefited from whether in France, from
overseas".

He said 16 people had been detained for questioning, including the wife of one
of the Kouachi brothers and other members of their family.




Watch-lists
The first siege on Friday - in Dammartin-en-Goele, 35km (22 miles) north of
Paris - involved two brothers who had attacked the offices of the Charlie Hebdo
magazine on Wednesday.

Cherif and Said Kouachi were shot dead as they came out of a warehouse
building firing at police. Two officers were injured.

One hostage had earlier been released and a second employee, who was hiding
in the building's cafeteria, was freed by police after the shooting ended.

Police shortly afterwards launched an assault on the supermarket in Paris,
killing Coulibaly and rescuing 15 hostages. They found the bodies of four
hostages believed to have been killed before the assault.



Prosecutors said the two brothers in Dammartin had a rocket launcher primed
and ready to fire, while the supermarket in Paris had been booby-trapped with
explosives.

Officials have said they were aware of Coulibaly and the two brothers. Said
Kouachi was known to have travelled to Yemen in 2011.

Both brothers are understood to have been on UK and US watch-lists.
While holed up in the warehouse north of Paris, Cherif Kouachi phoned a French TV news network and told them he was acting on behalf of the Yemen branch of al-Qaeda (AQAP).

The extremist group released an audio message late on Friday praising the
attacks but stopped short of claiming responsibility.

AQAP senior leader Sheikh Harith al-Nadhari said "some in France have
misbehaved with the prophets of God," adding that "God's faithful soldiers" had
taught them "the limits of freedom of speech".

Earlier on Friday, a man claiming to be Coulibaly told French TV station BFMTV
that he was a member of the Islamic State militant group, and that he had "co-
ordinated" his attack with the Kouachi brothers.

Mr Molins confirmed that Coulibaly knew one of the brothers and their
respective partners had spoken on the phone more than 500 times.

During Friday's siege, Coulibaly had threatened to kill his captives if police
attempted to capture the brothers, he added.

'Mistakes made'

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls admitted there had been a "clear failing" in
French intelligence.

"If 17 people die, this means mistakes have been made," he said, including
those killed in attacks on Wednesday and Thursday in the toll.

The violence started on Wednesday when the Kouachi brothers killed 12 people
and injured 11 in an attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo.

The unprecedented attack shocked France and there has been an outpouring of
sympathy and solidarity worldwide.

The French ministers' meeting on Saturday will make preparations for a huge
unity rally due to take place in the heart of Paris on Sunday.

Among those attending will be UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
US President Barack Obama said he had directed his intelligence agencies to
help France deal with any further threats.

Meanwhile, the US state department has updated its travel guidance, warning
Americans travelling abroad to maintain a high level of vigilance.

More stories on your way, just stick around to get more updates.



No comments:

Post a Comment