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Yemen's al-Qaeda branch has claimed responsibility for the deadly Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, with a top commander saying it was revenge for the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
The claim came in a video posting by Nasr al-Ansi, a top commander of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - or AQAP as the branch is known - via the group's Twitter account.

In the video, Ansi said the assault on the magazine's office, which killed 12 people - including editors, cartoonists and journalists, as well as two police officers - was in "revenge for the Prophet".
He said AQAP "chose the target, laid out the plan and financed the operation" against the weekly, though he produced no evidence to support the claim.
The assault was the beginning of three days of terror in France that saw 17 people killed before the perpetrators, three Islamic extremist attackers, were gunned down by security forces.
The two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, who carried out the Charlie Hebdo attack were "heroes," Ansi said.
"Congratulations to you, the Nation of Islam, for this revenge that has soothed our pain," he said. "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."
Ansi accused France of belonging to the "party of Satan" and said the country "shared all of America's crimes" against Muslims - a reference to France's military offensive in Mali.
He also warned of more "tragedies and terror" in the future.
Washington considers AQAP as al-Qaeda's most dangerous offshoots. Formed in 2009 as a merger between the terror group's Yemeni and Saudi branches, AQAP has been blamed for a string of unsuccessful bomb plots against US targets.
These include a foiled plan to down a Detroit-bound airliner in 2009 using a new type of explosive hidden in the bomber's underwear, and another attempt a year later to send mail bombs hidden in toner cartridges on planes bound to the US.
The Charlie Hebdo strike is the Yemen-based branch's first successful strike outside its home territory - and a triumph for its trademark double strategy of waging jihad in Yemen to build its strength to strike abroad.
At least one of the two brothers involved in the attack on the weekly travelled to Yemen in 2011 and either received training from or fought alongside the group, authorities say.
A US intelligence assessment shows Said Kouachi, 34, was trained in preparation to return home and carry out an attack.
French police say as many as six members of the terrorist cell behind the Paris attacks may still be at large, including a man seen driving a car registered to the widow of one of the gunmen.
The country has deployed 10,000 troops to protect sites like Jewish schools, synagogues, mosques and travel hubs.
"This cell did not include just those three," said French police union official Christophe Crepin. "We think … they had accomplices, because of the weaponry, the logistics … These are heavy weapons. When I talk about things like a rocket launcher - it's not like buying a baguette on the corner. It's for targeted acts."


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Charlie Hebdo attack

Yemen’s al-Qaeda branch claims responsibility for Charlie Hebdo slaughter

Leader of the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda, Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi. Photo: Reuters

Nasr al-Ansi, a top commander of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Al-Qaeda 'was behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks'. Photo: Reuters

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World

Yemen branch says attacks revenge for Charlie Hebdo publishing cartoons of the Prophet


Yemen's al-Qaeda branch has claimed responsibility for the deadly Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, with a top commander saying it was revenge for the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
