One Alleged Suspect in Paris Shootings Was Trained By Al Qaeda in Yemen
One of Kouachi Brothers Trained by AQAP for Months, US says.
— -- U.S. officials tell ABC News that French officials have passed along intelligence to the U.S. that one of the suspects in the Paris terror attack visited Yemen in 2011 and received training for several months from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The U.S. is working to corroborate the information provided by French officials and trying to determine if the Wednesday's attack was ordered by AQAP or inspired by the group’s stated desire to strike at western targets.
Said Kouachi, 34, and Cherif Kouachi, 32, are the main suspects in the shooting at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris Wednesday that killed 12 and left 11 wounded.
At a news conference Thursday French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve gave details about the brothers.
Cazeneuve said both brothers were known to law enforcement but no activity had been detected that would be the basis for charges against them.
In 2008 Cherif had been sentenced to three years in prison for his association with an Islamic militant cell that had been funneling foreign fighters to join al Qaeda in Iraq.
In 2010 he was investigated in relation to another terrorism case but was discharged.
According to Cazeneuve, Said Kouachi was unemployed and had not come into contact with law enforcement but was known through his brother’s activities.
A senior U.S. intelligence official confirmed Thursday that for years both brothers’ names had been included in the U.S. terrorism database known as TIDE administered by the National Counterterrorism Center and the no-fly list administered by the FBI.