Thread: TERRORIST ATTACK 12 killed at magazine; gunmen on the loose CNN

TERRORIST ATTACK 12 killed at magazine; gunmen on the loose

By Greg Botelho, CNN

Charlie Hebdo attack: 12 dead, manhunt on

By Greg Botelho, CNN
Updated 12:12 PM ET, Wed January 7, 2015



Police: 3 suspects on the loose after terror attack 01:01

Story highlights

• Video shows attackers walking to seemingly wounded man, firing
• U.S. diplomat Kerry: Attack part of clash between civilization, those opposed to it
• Gunmen attack the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris

(CNN)Hooded, black-clad gunmen burst into the office of a provocative French satirical magazine Wednesday, killing four cartoonists and eight others before heading off onto the streets of Paris.

While it wasn't immediately clear who was behind the late morning attack, French officials viewed it as a blatant act of terrorism. And there were fears that things could get worse, with the assailants still on the loose.

"We need to find the actors of this terrorist act," French President Francois Hollande said. "They must be arrested and brought before judges and condemned as quickly as possible. France is shocked today."

Latest update at 11:55 a.m. ET
• Video posted to YouTube shows two men shooting on a Paris street, then walking up to and firing point-blank at a seemingly wounded man as he lay on the ground.
• U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the attack part of a larger confrontation, not between civilizations, but between civilization itself and those opposed to civilization. Freedom "will never be eradicated by any act of terror," he said, adding that such an attack will only "strengthen ... our commitment to a civilized world."
• Charlie Hebdo editor and cartoonist Stephane Charbonnier, known as "Charb," is among the dead in the attack, a police spokesman in the district where the office is located told CNN. At least three other well-known cartoonists -- known by the pen names Cabu, Wolinski and Tignous -- were also killed.
• Police impounded a black Citroen in northeastern Paris similar to the one purportedly used by the attackers as a getaway car. Video from CNN affiliate BFMTV shows the vehicle being towed from Porte de Pantin, in Paris' 19th district.
• Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that all means are being used to "ensure as quickly as possible we can identify the (three attackers) and (arrest them), so that they can be punished with the severity that their barbarous acts are worthy of."
• In addition to the 12 dead, eight people were wounded, including four in critical condition, Cazeneuve said.

Charlie Hebdo: Satirical magazine is no stranger to controversy

Witness: Men armed with submachine guns

These developments come after heavily armed men entered the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris' 11th district, close to Place de la Bastille, and opened fire, SPG police union spokesman Luc Poignant told CNN affiliate BFMTV.


Map: Charlie Hebdo HQ, Paris
EXPAND IMAGE

A witness who works in the office opposite the magazine's told BFMTV that he saw two hooded men, dressed in black, enter the building with Kalashnikov submachine guns.

"We then heard them open fire inside, with many shots," he told the channel. "We were all evacuated to the roof. After several minutes, the men fled, after having continued firing in the middle of the street."

Witnesses also spoke of seeing a rocket launcher, according to French media reports.

A video taken by a journalist for the Premieres Lignes agency shows the gunmen shouting "God is great!" as they began the attack, Le Monde reported. They also cried, "We have avenged the Prophet!"



Gunmen fire, shout 'Allahu Akbar' 00:29

Two police officers were also among the dead, the law enforcement source said, according to Le Monde.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls raised France's security to its highest level -- "attack alert" -- after the Charlie Hebdo bloodshed. That means there will be reinforced security at media company offices, major stores, religious centers and on public transport, Valls' office said in a statement.

All available forces have been mobilized, with civil and military reinforcements as part of this plan. In addition, regional authorities have been instructed to step up their vigilance.

U.S. counterterrorism agencies are looking at a number of groups, including ISIS and al Qaeda, that might be responsible for the attack.

Charlie Hebdo has been singled out as a target for Islamist extremists in al Qaeda's publication, Inspire.

Satirical magazine has drawn anger
Charlie Hebdo is no stranger to controversy for having lampooned a variety of subjects, including Christianity. But what it's done on Islam has gotten the most attention and garnered the most vitriol.

Its last tweet before Wednesday's attack featured a cartoon of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the words, "And, above all, health."

Earlier cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed -- depictions that are deplored by Muslims -- spurred protests and the burning of the magazine's office three years ago.

In November 2011, Charlie Hebdo's office caught fire the day it was due to publish a cover making fun of Islamic law.

A year later, in an interview with Le Monde newspaper, Charbonnier gave little indication that he planned to change Charlie Hebdo's ways.

"It may sound pompous," he said, "but I'd rather die standing than live on my knees."



Killed cartoon editor in 2012: 'Disarm them with humor' 00:35
PLAY VIDEO

His death, and those of seven others, spurred a wave of support for the publication and its practices around France and the world.

This was evident on social media, where a trend emerged of people tweeting past covers from the magazine as well as the words "Je suis Charlie," or "I am Charlie." Rallies were also planned for Wednesday evening, including one set for Paris' Place de la Republique.

The latest attack spurred Hollande, the French President, to vow that "no barbarous act will ever extinguish freedom of the press."

"We knew that we were threatened like other countries in the world," the President added later. "We are threatened because we are a country of freedom."

World leaders condemn attack, support France

The bloodshed rattled not only France, but much of the world.

It heightened concerns about security in many places like New York, which -- even without any known specific threat -- added officers at sensitive sites around the city, including the French Consulate, in response to the attack, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Even more common were expressions of sympathy and solidarity, along the lines of European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans' sentiment that the incident marked "an attack on all of us, on our fundamental values, on the freedoms our #EU societies are built upon."

Others around the continent echoed this view, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who took to Twitter to call "the murders in Paris ... sickening."

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the attack "horrendous ... unjustified and cold blooded crimes." It was an attempt to divide, he said, adding that "we must not fall into that trap."

France also got backing from the head of NATO, the military alliance it belongs to, with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg blasting what he called "a barbaric act and an outrageous attack on press freedom."

U.S. President Barack Obama similarly condemned the attack, saying he's directed his government "to provide any assistance needed to help bring these terrorists to justice" in support of "America's oldest ally."

"Time and again, the French people have stood up for the universal values that generations of our people have defended," Obama said. "France, and the great city of Paris where this outrageous attack took place, offer the world a timeless example that will endure well beyond the hateful vision of these killers."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/07/europe/france-satire-magazine-gunfire/index.html

• 
• BLACK-CLAD ISLAMIST ASSASSINS who opened fire inside the Paris offices of satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 — including its editor and three cartoonists who lampooned Islamic radicals — are captured on video executing the cold-blooded murder of a wounded police officer as he begged for mercy. Witnesses say the gunmen yelled, 'We've avenged the honor of the prophet!' before escaping.

• WARNING, GRAPHIC VIDEO: Islamist gunmen execute Paris police officer during attack
• CONTROVERSIAL CARTOONS: Satirical images lampoon Islamic radicals | PHOTOS: Terror attack
• US officials scanning terror databases in search for suspects |
• VIDEO: Kerry speaks on terror attack
• OPINION: Courageous journalism is under fire |
• OPINION: US, world must adapt to new face of terror
• VIDEOS: Gunmen reportedly heard yelling Allahu Akbar |
• Video shows gunmen in escaping
• Obama condemns 'cowardly, evil' attack in Paris, offers US help to pursue terrorists
• VIDEO: White House: Attack is 'act of terrorism' |
• Group claiming to be ISIS hijacks news station, paper
• State Department tweeting 'RIP' for terrorist captives believed still alive

LATEST:

The editor of French magazine Charlie Hebdo and three other cartoonists among the 12 victims of Paris attack

Video uploaded to YouTube shows the attackers fleeing after shooting a police officer

Massacre at French magazine office

A major manhunt is under way in Paris for three gunmen who shot dead 12 people at the office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

• Latest updates Live
• Gunmen flee attack scene Watch
• Magazine's mysterious last tweet
• Images from scene
• Garish, incendiary magazine
• Rooftop video of Paris shooting Watch
• What we know so far
• Hollande: 'Barbaric' attack Watch

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Charlie Hebdo attack - latest Live

Less than a minute agoFrench football club Lille has said it will hold a minute's silence before its forthcoming match against Evian. Both clubs are due to wear black armbands for the tie.

Charlie Hebdo attack

• The defiant editor
  
• Tweets from attack scene
  

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• How events in Paris unfolded Watch
• 
• Rooftop eyewitnesses film shooting Watch
• 
• Gunmen shoot officer, then flee by car Watch
• 
• Paris shooting 'barbaric' - Hollande Watch
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• 'I saw people hiding from gunmen' Watch
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• How French TV reported shooting Watch
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• Idiot extremists' - editor speaks in 2011 Watch
• '
• Two guys entered with Kalashnikovs'Watch
• Witnesses describe 'carnage' in officeWatch
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• We will arrest and punish gunmen'Watch
• 
• Attack raises tension in EuropeWatch
• 
• UK leader condemns France attackWatch

Moved to Other Topics with the other stories about this incident.

This is the most importants story happening in the WORLD today and needs to be brought to everyone's attention.

Doesnt the socialist state of France, which has been filled with Muslim illegal aliens turned into 'Guest Workers' have some of the strictest gun laws in the world?

W

Gun laws don't mean diddly when you're a criminal. The thugs ALWAYS manage to be well armed, especially the muslim thugs.

French police identify gunmen in attack on Paris magazine that killed 12

By Perry Chiaramonte
Published January 07, 2015 FoxNews.com



NOW PLAYINGAnalyzing the organization of Paris terror attack

French police have identified the three Islamist gunmen who mounted Wednesday's terrorist attack at a Paris satirical magazine's office and said one had been convicted of terrorism charges in 2008.

Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, named the suspects to the Associated Press as Frenchmen Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi, in their early 30s, as well as 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, whose nationality wasn't immediately clear.

One of the officials said they were linked to a Yemeni terrorist network.

All three remain at large.
Cherif Kouachi was convicted in 2008 of terrorism charges for helping funnel fighters to Iraq's insurgency and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The gunmen moved with the skill and precision of highly-trained commandos, military experts told FoxNews.com.

Masked and garbed in black, the AK-47 wielding assassins appeared to be executing a well-coordinated plan in the late-morning raid, methodically seeking out and executing those targeted for death, and making a clean getaway -- all in the span of a few minutes. Moments after the 11:30 a.m. attack, the three assassins were gone. A manhunt continued into the evening in a shaken and locked-down Paris.

A chilling video of two gunmen stopping their getaway car to wound, chase down and execute a police officer raising his hand in a plea for mercy shows shows tactics and movement that only comes with training, said retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, a Fox News strategic analyst.

“It was evident immediately that this was a carefully planned, sophisticated operation by well-trained, well-armed veterans of jihad,” Peters said. “This was not a pick-up team. These butchers were methodical and efficient. They weren't just terrorists: They were terrorist commandos.”

In the video, the killers are seen advancing along the street in perfect unison, seamlessly trading places as one man provides cover fire and the other moves forward. They also were dressed in black tactical gear and balaclavas to conceal their faces.

"They weren't just terrorists: They were terrorist commandos.”

- Retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters

Peters pointed to the focus and efficiency of the trio, contrasting it with an approach that might be expected of wild-eyed wannabes.

“There aren't little giveaways, it's the overall skill with which the attack was executed,” Peters said. “And they didn't just go nuts and shoot wildly, as amateur jihadis do. They set out to kill specific people and never list focus. [They] even stayed cool during the getaway phase. These men had killed before.”

In the aftermath of the attack, images showed a police car's windshield bearing an ominously precise grouping of bullet holes, although it did not appear that the car's occupant was one of the two police officers killed. Still, such accurate shooting is likely not the result of luck, given the powerful recoil of AK-47s.

“These are not amateurs,” Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical analysis at global intelligence firm Stratfor, told FoxNews.com.

“Especially when you compare it to the [deadly, but amateurish lone wolf attack on Oct. 22, 2014] in Ottawa.

“These men were working as a fire team,” he said.

Stewart believes the killers, who witnesses said spoke unaccented French, likely were trained in the Middle East and had possibly seen battle there. More that 1,000 French jihadists are estimated to have left to fight alongside terrorist groups like Islamic State and Al Qaeda, stoking fears that they would continue to kill in the name of Islam upon return.

“It’s possible that they were trained in Yemen or anywhere on the Arabian Peninsula,” Stewart said. “This was a highly trained team.

They were trained in small arms and small unit tactics. What they were displaying is guerrilla warfare 101.”

Stewart noted that the Russian-made AK-47s are the weapon of choice for terrorists in training camps as well as on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria.

Stewart also said that it is likely that the gunman were already known to authorities in France.

“I would bet cash that these guys were known to the police,” he said.

“But it is hard to track them, especially in France, where there are so many of them."

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01...d-say-experts/

Daily Fitz Cartoon: Paris

Masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a satirical newspaper Wednesday, killing at least 12 people.
January 07, 2015 12:00 pm
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• French police identify 3 suspects in attack that killed 12

Paris Attack Suspect Dead, Two in Custody

BY PETE WILLIAMS, M. ALEX JOHNSON AND JON SCHUPPE

One of the suspects in the Paris attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine has been killed and the two others are in custody, two senior U.S. counterterrorism officials told NBC News.

Authorities identified the three men as Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi, both French and in their early 30s, and 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, whose nationality wasn't immediately clear.

One of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the investigation, told The Associated Press that the men were linked to a Yemeni terrorist network. And Cherif Kouachi was convicted in 2008 of terrorism charges for helping funnel fighters to Iraq's insurgency and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Twelve people were killed in the attack by gunmen, armed with AK-47s, who attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a publication that has enraged Muslims for publishing cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. On their way in, they killed a maintenance worker, then stormed into an editorial meeting, where they killed eight journalists, including Stephane Charbonnier, the magazine's editorial director, and Bank of France economist Bernard Maris, a columnist. A security officer and a guest were also gunned down. As they fled, they killed a second police officer.

Eleven other people were injured, four of them critically, officials said.

Because the masked, black-clad gunmen attacked with militaristic precision and left the scene with shouts of "Allahu Akbar," the killers were suspected to be well-trained Islamic extremists.

RELATED: Charlie Hebdo's Slain Editor Charb Long Defended Provocative Material

Little information was immediately available about Mourad and Said Kouachi, but Cherif Kouachi has been suspected of involvement in terrorist groups for at least a decade. In January 2005, he and another French national were arrested in Paris as they were planning to fly to Iraq via Syria. Kouachi was described at the time as one of two deputies to the leader of an operation to send young volunteers to Iraq to fight U.S.-led forces.

Authorities linked the operation to the 19th Arrondissement Network, named for the Paris district where it was based, which is home to many Muslim families with roots in France's former North African colonies. Kouachi was sentenced to three years in prison, 18 months of which were suspended.

The Associated Press quoted Cherif Kouachi in 2008 as saying he'd been motivated by outrage at images of torture of Iraqi inmates at the U.S. prison at Abu Ghraib. "I really believed in the idea," it quoted him as saying.

While authorities hunted the suspects Wednesday, shock and mourning spread across Paris and the rest of France, a country with an estimated 5 million Muslims. France has a long, troubled relationship with its Arab immigrants and a more recent history of unrest among young native-born Muslims. There has been growing concern about young men and women returning to France after joining jihadist activity in the Middle East.

Thousands of Parisians took to the streets in spontaneous and defiant demonstrations of unity. They lighted candles and held signs declaring "Je Suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie") in reference to the magazine. At the Place de la Republique, they crammed themselves up onto the monument in the middle of the square and chanted "Charlie! Liberty!" Candles, posters and signs covered the three statues representing Liberty, Equality and Fraternity — the bedrock of French values.

"They want to scare French citizens and prohibit any criticism of religion, so here we are to remind them that religion can be freely criticized," said Sasha Reingewirtz, 28, president of the Jewish Students Union.

President Francois Hollande declared Thursday a day of national mourning and called for a minute of silence at noon. Flags will fly at half-staff for three days. The government raised its terrorism threat level to its highest grade and announced that security forces would be deployed at media outlets, major shopping venues, sites of religious worship and transportation networks in the Paris region.

Robert Windrem, Nancy Ing and Ed Kiernan of NBC News contributed to this report.

First published January 7th 2015, 2:14 pm

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/par...ustody-n281761