Charlie Hebdo (Photo : Reuters)
Five names have been unveiled after France transformed into somewhat of a war zone on Jan. 9, Friday, when the police went after those suspected of being responsible for the shooting at French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, USA Today reported.
Some were killed when the police led simultaneous attacks, such as two suspects found at a warehouse located north of Paris and a gunman who holed up at a kosher supermarket with hostages.
The two suspects were brothers Cherif Kouachi, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34. The younger brother claimed they were ordered and financed by al-Qaeda to attack the Charlie Hebdo newspaper. The older brother was said to have traveled to Yemen in 2011, and it was unknown if he had contact with any al-Qaeda operatives while he was there.
Amedy Coulibaly, 32, was the gunman responsible for the supermarket attacks. Claiming to be part of the Islamic State, he was also heard by reporters saying that the supermarket attack and the massacres at the Charlie Hebdo were all coordinated.
Hamyd Mourad, 18, surrendered to the police on Thursday. He was said to be involved in the newspaper massacre, but his connection to the Kouachi brothers is unknown. His alibi stated that he was at school at the time of the attack.
One suspect remains at large, Hayat Boumeddiene, 32, who is rumored to be Coulibaly's girlfriend and said to be armed and dangerous.
France and the rest of the world were shocked when two attacks occurred on Wednesday, with assailants storming the Charlie Hebdo newspaper and one holding people at gunpoint at a kosher grocery, according to The Wall Street Journal. Seventeen people were killed at the newspaper's headquarters, while four died at the grocery store.
Charlie Hebdo has been receiving death threats for its satirical caricatures about Islam and the massacre caused a political fallout. Many were shocked that the suspects, who were part of France's five-million strong Muslim population, killed their own countrymen in honor of a terrorist group.
In a statement to the nation, President François Hollande said, "France isn't finished with the threats facing it. Unity is our best weapon."
