Even though it was days ago, the world is still reeling and in shock from the sudden brutality of the terrorist attack the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo’s office. 2 masked men who were heavily armed with AK-47s and had military training stormed the office and sought out some of France’s most beloved and esteemed cartoonists by name before executing a total of 12 people and 2 police officers while wounding another 11 (including 4 who were seriously wounded). As the world watched and waited, France underwent its most intense anti-terrorism efforts in recent years as it tracked down the shooters and finally killed them after a standoff. While the shooters had told a witness before they fled the magazine office that they were working for Al-Qaeda in Yemen, no one knew if this was true because no one had taken any claim for the attack until now.
Today a spokesman for Al-Qaeda in Yemen backed up the claims of the terrorists and said that Al-Qaeda in Yemen had ordered the attacks due to Charlie Hebdo’s constant mocking of the Prophet Muhammad and Islam in general. The main offense was taken at the magazine’s publishing of photos of the prophet, something that certain interpretations of Islam forbid. Nasr al-Ansi, the leader of Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula, announced that his group had chosen the target, financed the attack, and planned the entire thing after Charlie Hebdo made it onto a list of enemies that it would attack.
Terrorism experts now believe that the Charlie Hebdo attack points to a shift in tactics from terrorist organizations as they focus less on attacking high-security targets and more on commando-style attacks on softer targets. With airports and hotels so secured, attacking places like magazines that anger them is a more effective way to get their message out there and in front of people all around the world. Hopefully this isn’t the case though or else people in all occupations will be under threat.
If you’d like to read more, the link is here.