DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda in
Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack on French satirical
newspaper Charlie Hebdo, saying it was ordered by the Islamist militant
group's leadership
for insulting the Prophet Mohammad, according to a
video posted on YouTube.
"As for the blessed Battle of Paris, we,
the Organization of al Qaeda al Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula, claim
responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the Messenger of
God," said Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, a leader of the Yemeni branch of al
Qaeda (AQAP) in the recording.
Gunmen killed a total of 17 people
in three days of violence that began when they opened fire at Charlie
Hebdo in revenge for its past publication of satirical images of the
Prophet.
Ansi, the main ideologue for AQAP, said the "one who
chose the target, laid the plan and financed the operation is the
leadership of the organization", without naming an individual.
He
added without elaborating that the strike was carried out in
"implementation" of the order of overall al Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahri, who has called for strikes by Muslims in the West using any
means they can find.
AQAP itself is led by Nasser al-Wuhayshi, who is also Zawahri's number two in the network's global hierarchy.
"We did it in compliance with the command of Allah and supporting His Messenger, peace be upon Him," Ansi added.
It
was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the
recording, which carried the logo of the al Qaeda's media group
al-Malahem.
The first edition of Charlie Hebdo published after
last week's attacks sold out within minutes at newspaper kiosks around
France on Wednesday, with people queuing up to buy copies to support the
satirical weekly.
(Reporting by Sami Aboudi and Yara Bayoumy, Editing by William Maclean and Dominic Evans)
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