Al Qaeda In Yemen Claims Charlie Hebdo Attack

Al Qaeda in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attack on the offices Charlie Hebdo, which left 12 people dead, in a new video posted online.

Nasser al Ansi, one of the chiefs of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), said the Paris attack had been carried out in retaliation for the satirical magazine's publication of images depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

He said the attackers - Said and Cherif Kouachi - had been acting on the orders of al Qaeda's global commander, Ayman al Zawahiri.

In the video, entitled "A message regarding the blessed battle of Paris", al Ansi said: "We, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the messenger of Allah.

"The leadership of (AQAP) was the party that chose the target and plotted and financed the plan.

"The heroes were chosen and they answered the call.

"Congratulations to you, the Nation of Islam, for this revenge that has soothed our pain.

"Congratulations to you for these brave men who blew off the dust of disgrace and lit the torch of glory in the darkness of defeat and agony."

He also warned of more "tragedies and terror" in the future.

It has not been possible to immediately verify the authenticity of the video, however it carried the logo of al Qaeda's media group, al Malahem.

AQAP recently called for its supporters to carry out attacks in France and is the same group which communicated with the men who killed Fusilier Lee Rigby in London in May 2013.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said the latest video came "amid increasing competition with so-called Islamic State for the violent Islamist franchise".

"It does not prove, either way, whether al Qaeda’s top man ordered the attacks, nor that either of the Kouachi brothers even met the now dead Anwar al Awlaki," he said.

"There are grounds to look for a wider conspiracy because of the level of weaponry the men had – but this could be al Qaeda joining the Kouachis after the fact of the attacks.

"Amedy Coulibaly, their comrade, claimed to have been part of Islamic State. That movement has been quick to adopt him, but given no proof that it was linked to the killer who attacked the kosher grocery."

The video came as the first edition of Charlie Hebdo published since the massacre hit the newsstands, selling out within hours .

It features another image of the Prophet Mohammed on its front cover. The cartoon Mohammed has tears in his eyes, holding a "Je Suis Charlie" sign under the headline "All Is Forgiven".

New video has also emerged of the Kouachi brothers on the streets of Paris after last week's attack .

The footage shows the two masked figures calmly returning to their getaway vehicle moments after murdering eight journalists, including the magazine's editor, and four others.

The pair reload their weapons, before one shouts: "We have avenged the Prophet Mohammed, we have killed Charlie Hebdo."

Both claimed to have trained with AQAP before they were shot dead in a police raid.

Coulibaly - who is accused of killing a policewoman and then shooting four people at a kosher supermarket in Paris - said he was coordinating with the brothers, but claimed to have been associated with Islamic State.

The gunmen were known to French intelligence agencies and had been on a US terror watch list for some time.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has now declared a "war against terrorism".

"France is at war against terrorism, jihadism, radicalism ... (not) Islam and Muslims," he said. "I don't want Jews in this country to be scared, or Muslims to be ashamed."

He also called for France's intelligence and anti-terrorism laws to be strengthened and for "clear failings" to be addressed.

Since then, France has detained 54 people for defending or glorifying terrorism.

They include the controversial comedian Dieudonne who was arrested over a Facebook comment which appeared to be sympathetic to the gunmen.

France has also announced it is sending an aircraft carrier to help the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants. It is already carrying out airstrikes against the extremist group in Iraq.

Meanwhile, funerals have taken place in Paris and Jerusalem for some of the 17 people who were killed in the terror attacks, who included three police officers.