Two Paris Attack suspects in Custody , one Suspect dead , update

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People attend to a silent vigil in Trafalgar Square, London, England to condemn the gun attack at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo office in Paris, which killed 12 people on January 7, 2015.  (Photo by Tolga Akmen/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
People attend to a silent vigil in Trafalgar Square, London, England to condemn the gun attack at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo office in Paris, which killed 12 people on January 7, 2015. (Photo by Tolga Akmen/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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 on Wednesday.

French authorities would not confirm the U.S. officials’ report.

Authorities earlier had identified the three men as Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi, both French and in their early 30s, and Hamyd Mourad, 18. It couldn’t immediately be determined which of the suspects was killed or whether the two others were wounded.

An official 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. 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.

A source familiar with the investigation told NBC News on Wednesday night that two officers who had been assigned to protect Charbonnier for the past several years came down from an upper floor and intercepted the gunmen. Both officers were shot, however, and one died at the scene. The other was wounded and is expected to survive.

The men targeted those magazine employees who had created or published cartoons showing Muhammad — asking for their victims by name, the source said. They executed editor and cartoonist Stephane Charbonnier, popularly known as Charb; Bernard Maris, a Bank of France economist who was a columnist for the magazine; and three cartoonists.

Outside the building, as the gunmen tried to flee in their Citroën van, three officers in a police patrol car intercepted them. Two suspects got out of the van, and one fired repeatedly into the windshield of the patrol car.

The source said the patrol car driver slammed the car into reverse, while another officer in the car returned fire at the shooter. The patrol car driver then hit the brakes, allowing an officer in the back seat to jump out and run toward the suspects. But the officer was shot and wounded by the suspects. He was executed with a shot to the head as he lay on the sidewalk.

After killing the officer, the gunmen returned to their car, shouting, “We avenged the Prophet Muhammad,” the source said.

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.

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 convicted in 2008 and 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.

CNBC

Update

French police have released the names and photographs of two suspects wanted in Wednesday’s terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.

Cherif Kouachi, left, and Said Kouachi, right, are suspects in the Paris attack.
Cherif Kouachi, left, and Said Kouachi, right, are suspects in the Paris attack.

Correction

CNBC issued a correction because it erroneously reported the capture of two suspects and the killing of another in the attack on the French newspaper office . Anchor Brian Williams on Thursday explained that the network relied on two senior U.S. intelligence officials for the information. There had been no confirmation from French officials on the story, which was reported by Pete Williams and delivered on the air by Bill Neely.

“While these sources had been reliable in our previous reporting, the intel they passed along to us last night turned out not to be correct,” Brian Williams said on the air.
“The best information we have tonight is that two are still on the loose,” he said.

An intense manhunt for two brothers wanted in the Charlie Hebdo magazine massacre focused Thursday on northern France’s Picardy region, where sources close to the investigation said a police helicopter might have spotted the suspects.

Authorities believe that Cherif Kouachi, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34, entered a wooded area on foot, the sources told CNN’s Chris Cuomo. Now investigators are using helicopters equipped with night vision tools to try to find them, the sources said.

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25 responses to “Two Paris Attack suspects in Custody , one Suspect dead , update”

  1. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Fast work ….

  2. The attackers wore hoods, and have not yet been captured, but the authorities already know who they are?

    And if you believe THAT one, I have some of Saddam’s nuclear weapons to sell you!

    A cause like this hasn’t been solved this fast since 9-11 was pinned on Osama Bin Laden, and the JFK assassination pinned on Lee Oswald!

    Read more: whatreallyhappened.com http://whatreallyhappened.com/#ixzz3ODbbXmpI

    1. MekensehParty Avatar
      MekensehParty

      enough bullshit, evasion and deflection, be a man and face the fact that intolerance is part of the Muslim religion.
      Nobody is calling for the downfall of Islam, people are calling for Islam to mature like other religions and become tolerant of the other, even if that other is a peaceful anti-religion.
      People have the right to say, draw or portray any figure the way they like. If it insults you, you can use your freedom to insult back or if you’re wise to look away.
      Stop your misinformation campaign, it only proves that you sympathize with the killers.

      1. I think it’s time to draw a line on free speech, otherwise it’s open season, on mocking the cartoonists .

        http://5pillarsuk.com/2015/01/07/charlie-hebdo-shooting-in-paris-time-to-draw-red-lines/

        1. MekensehParty Avatar
          MekensehParty

          The season is open on you, bilal abdulkarim and the likes of you.
          We’re coming for your Caliph and we’ll stick a Charly Ebdo magazine up his ass
          try to draw a line on that!

          1. sweetvirgo Avatar
            sweetvirgo

            Why a magazine?? Stick a pig up his ass.

          2. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            Poor pig, it would be animal torture.

          3. sweetvirgo Avatar
            sweetvirgo

            LOL…I didn’t think about animal torture. Now I’m thinking about the little pig in the movie babe :(( ok no pig.

          4. Thank you for endorsing my comments with your love.
            Not surprising coming from the civilised person that you are ….NOT.

          5. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            lol so the guy who wants to “draw a line on free speech” gives lessons on civilization.
            It was a joke btw, if you see the cartoons (istaghfarallah) of Charly Ebdo, there was always a magazine in someone’s ass. Only the likes of you found offense in it and returned the offense with plenty of “love” as you call it.
            Allow us to indulge with love in Iraq and Syria mainly, and everywhere else we’ll find your ass.

        2. nagy_michael2 Avatar
          nagy_michael2

          While i agree with you to some extents that journalists should have some decency when it comes to religion anyway. but at the same time did you condemn your fellow muslims for beheading sunnis, shiites, Christians and yazdis? are you telling us that we should respect these monsters? then you are no different then them. just come out and say it then.

    2. nagy_michael2 Avatar
      nagy_michael2

      Btru2u It was Bin Laden who proudly announced it. stop blaming it on the U.S. as far as who masterminded it, i would not hesitate to point in the directions of Iran since lots of Al Qaeda leaderships and other members. there is no way Al Qaeda could have planned this on their own for sure. Saddam had chemical weapons otherwise how did he gassed the Kurds and Iranian soldiers? as far as nuclear weapons no but he could have done it if he was given the time for sure. Lee Oswald was not the only who was accused and Russia was accused in the process but the secret files are secret i guess. but there is definitely suspicions on this one for sure.

  3. TheUSequalsTheIS Avatar
    TheUSequalsTheIS

    i’m so stuffed wid islamic terrorism. i condemn this attack killing a lot of civilians, i condomn the french regime for backing islamic terrorists to carry out these attacks. shame on the french regime and every western country for keeping islamic terrorism alive to serve their own agenda!!!

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Je T’asscuse !!

    2. nagy_michael2 Avatar
      nagy_michael2

      Really? Iran and Syria had al Qaeda for years? Saddam second in command was still in Syria until two years ago while he was running operations to kill shiites and american soldiers. how can you be so ignorant and deceitfull. are you telling me al qaeda were going thru syria when American soldiers were there without help and being facilitated by Assad? do you really think we are that naive? all of them were responsible but mostly your beloved Bashar and general suleimani..

      1. TheUSequalsTheIS Avatar
        TheUSequalsTheIS

        the iranian mollah regime is installed by france, so if u have a problem wid the mollahs go tell hollande to stop the mollahs!!!!

  4. Empowered Muslims are the wests fear

    http://www.bilalabdulkareem.com/empowerment/

    1. MekensehParty Avatar
      MekensehParty

      The West has no fears because its strength is freedom, its main weapons are pencils and are much stronger than its armies as you will soon realize.
      The West simply treats you like humans which you wrongfully perceive as weakness
      And when the time comes and you bastards dare meet us in battle instead of hiding among civilians the West teaches you a lesson in fear.

    2. nagy_michael2 Avatar
      nagy_michael2

      we are not afraid of your fellow terrorists and we shall wreak and bomb them until they all burn in hell inshallah.

  5. arzatna1 Avatar

    The Muslims of this world need to learn to fight with their pens if they want to advance their cause . When people start using guns to solve their problems , they give up thinking or using their brains.
    Charlie Hebdo magazine targeted many different types of organizations on the right and the left , but none of these organizations resorted to killing journalists , instead they fought them with the same weapon ” the pen ” or used the French legal system “courts”.

    Muslim leaders should realize that such attacks , just like the 9/11 attack do not help the Muslims in any shape or form. On the contrary these acts helped destroy the image of Islam as a peace seeking religion . Time for drastic grass root reforms within the Islamic sects .

  6. Fauzia45 Avatar

    There are thousands of angry desperate frustrated radicalized Moslems that are ready to attack ,kill and commit their horrific crimes everywhere!!What is needed is to fight a battle against preachers who incite and call for violence ,their^holy jihad^!!!!They must be stopped everywhere ,all around the world!!Why are they allowed to preach in Europe and elsewhere when they can t in their countries ???They are the real danger!!!!

  7. It’s been 2days and no one has been caught or charged.
    While every anti terror expert has agreed that the attack on Charlie Hebdo yesterday was a professional job, it seems pretty amateurish for a ‘highly trained terrorist’ to leave his ID behind. And since when does a terrorist take his ID on an operation? One possible explanation is that the so-called terrorists needed a few extra hours to leave France or disappear. They had to fool the French police and intelligence into searching the wrong places and the wrong people. Is it possible that they simply planted a stolen or forged ID card in the car they left behind?

    If this was the scenario, it is possible that the attack yesterday had nothing to do with ‘Jihadi terrorism.’ It is quite probable that this was another false flag operation. Who could be behind it? Use your imagination…

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