Al Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility on the attack on French satirical Newspaper.

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 Organisation 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)