Islamic State's radio praises Charlie Hebdo attackers as 'heroes'

The Islamic State group’s radio praised as “heroes” Thursday the perpetrators of a deadly attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. “Jihadist heroes have killed 12 journalists who worked for the French magazine Charlie Hebdo and wounded more than 10 others, to avenge the Prophet (Mohammed),” said a statement read on Al-Bayan radio. In fact, only eight journalists died in the Wednesday assault on the satirical weekly’s Paris headquarters. Of the four others killed, two were policemen. In its statement Al-Bayan accused Charlie Hebdo of having “insulted” the prophet for many year, adding that “among those killed were cartoonists who have been mocking Islam and its great figures.” Charlie Hebdo’s staff had been the target of death threats for years, starting in 2006 when it reprinted 12 cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed published the previous year by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. [caption id=“attachment_2037301” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The magazine’s editor-in-chief Stephane “Charb” Charbonnier was among five cartoonists killed in the attack, which also claimed the life of the police officer assigned to protect him. There has been no claim of responsibility for the killings, which have triggered global condemnation. The masked, black-clad gunmen who stormed the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo in broad daylight are said to have shouted “we have avenged the prophet” and “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest). French authorities have issued arrest warrants for two suspects, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi. Cherif, 32, is a known jihadist convicted in 2008 for involvement in a network sending fighters to Iraq. He and 34-year-old Said were born in Paris and are French nationals of Algerian origin. Also on Thursday, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) praised the attackers of the French magazine on its Twitter account, saying “we have avenged the messenger of Allah” and “the invasion of Charlie Hebdo”. A short poem was also written to laud the attack and commend the assailants. AFP