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January 8, 2015

Charlie Hebdo Suspects Known to Authorities for Militant Ties 
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French have authorities identified the gunmen as Chérif and Said
Kouachi. Police say they have located them in a district in northern
France, but it remains unclear if they have been detained. Another
suspect, 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, turned himself in on Wednesday at a
police station in northern France. Mourad, a recent high school
graduate, proclaimed his innocence. The two brothers were known to
French intelligence services. In 2008, Chérif Kouachi was sentenced to
three years in prison for his involvement in a network of sending
volunteer fighters to Iraq to fight alongside al-Qaeda. At the time,
Kouachi told the court that he had been motivated to travel to Iraq by
images of atrocities committed by U.S. troops in Abu Ghraib prison.
There are reports the two brothers, who were born in Paris, returned
from fighting in Syria last summer. The remaining staff at Charlie
Hebdo, meanwhile, has announced it will continue to publish on schedule.

 

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