Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
International

Al Qaeda warns France after terror attacks

Darpan News Desk IANS, 13 Jan, 2015 10:43 AM
    The Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has issued a warning to France after the country's spate of terror attacks over the past week.
     
    "France pays the cost of its violence on Muslim countries and the violation of their sanctity," AQIM, the north African branch of the Al Qaeda, said in a statement published on jihadi websites, CNN reported.
     
    "As long as its soldiers occupy countries such as Mali and Central Africa and bombard our people in Syria and Iraq, and as long as its lame media continues to undermine our Prophet (Mohammed), France will expose itself to the worst and more."
     
    France is reeling from an attack at the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper, which killed 12 people Wednesday, the death of a policewoman Thursday, and the siege of a Jewish supermarket Friday that left four hostages dead.
     
    Three terrorists in the attacks were killed, but a suspected co-conspirator remains on the loose -- possibly in Syria.
     
    The warning from AQIM comes just before Charlie Hebdo, known for its controversial depiction of the Prophet Mohammed, is set to publish again Tuesday. The issue will hit newsstands Wednesday.
     
    This time, the cover features a drawing of a frowning Prophet Mohammed with a teardrop coming from his eye.
     
    "All is Forgiven," the cover headline says in French.
     
    In the prophet's hands, there is a sign that says "Je suis Charlie" or "I am Charlie."
     
    From Paris to Jerusalem, Tuesday would mark a day of mourning for the victims in last week's attacks.
     
    The bodies of four hostages killed in the Jewish store siege brought to Israel Tuesday morning. All four - Philippe Braham, Yohan Cohen, Yoav Hattab and François-Michel Saada - will be buried at the Govat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem.
     
    A Muslim policeman killed while trying to pursue the assailants from the Charlie Hebdo attack will be laid to rest Tuesday.
     
    While France is grappling with a new wave of terrorism, concerns about future attacks have spilled well across its borders.
     
    The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is boosting security at more government buildings across the country. But the exact locations are "law-enforcement sensitive", DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement.
     
    Johnson also noted that the Transportation Security Administration has ramped up the number of random searches of passengers and carry-on luggage at US airports.
     
    The White House tried damage control Monday after widespread criticism that neither President Barack Obama nor any other high-ranking US official joined a massive anti-terrorism march in Paris that drew 40 other world leaders.
     
    White House spokesperson Josh Earnest acknowledged "we should have sent someone with a higher profile", not even trying to justify the fact that the largely unknown US Ambassador to France, Jane Hartley, was the top American official at Sunday's rally.
     
    While the US has not faced a physical terror attack since the incidents in France, Islamic State (IS) sympathisers did hack the Twitter account of the US Central Command.
     
    A series of unusual tweets were published Monday with apparent warnings from the IS, as well as links, images and Pentagon documents that reveal contact information for members of the military.
     
    The first tweet read: "AMERICAN SOLDIERS, WE ARE COMING, WATCH YOUR BACK. IS."
     
    "CyberCaliphate" and "i love you isis" were sprawled out in white letters against a black screen at the top of the Twitter page.
     
    The account was suspended, but defence officials say no classified information was obtained and no military networks were compromised.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Indian charged with rape, sodomy of Indonesian woman

    Indian charged with rape, sodomy of Indonesian woman
    An Indian national was charged in a sessions court here with three counts of raping and sodomising an Indonesian woman...

    Indian charged with rape, sodomy of Indonesian woman

    CIA chief admits use of brutal interrogation techniques

    CIA chief admits use of brutal interrogation techniques
    Some officers of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used brutal techniques on terrorist suspects and there was no proof of useful information yielded...

    CIA chief admits use of brutal interrogation techniques

    IS militants bomb homes of military and police in Iraq

    IS militants bomb homes of military and police in Iraq
    Islamic State (IS) militants blew up the homes of Iraqi military and police personnel as well as members of the Shabak religious minority Thursday in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul....

    IS militants bomb homes of military and police in Iraq

    UN Adopts Modi's Yoga Day Proposal, Backed By 175 Countries

    UN Adopts Modi's Yoga Day Proposal, Backed By 175 Countries
    In a huge global endorsement for yoga, 175 out of 193 members of the UN, countries as diverse as the US and Syria, Russia and Britain, and China and the Philippines, agreed by acclamation Wednesday to declare June 21 the International Yoga Day, recognizing the ancient Indian science's "holistic approach to health and well-being".

    UN Adopts Modi's Yoga Day Proposal, Backed By 175 Countries

    Five Al Qaeda India militants held in Pakistan

    Five Al Qaeda India militants held in Pakistan
    Pakistan police claimed to have arrested five militants belonging to the newly formed Al Qaeda India (AQI) group for their alleged involvement...

    Five Al Qaeda India militants held in Pakistan

    Two more MH17 crash victims identified

    Two more MH17 crash victims identified
    Two more victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine have been identified, raising total number of the identified victims to...

    Two more MH17 crash victims identified