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Charlie Hebdo Suspects Known to Authorities for Militant Ties

HeadlineJan 08, 2015

French have authorities identified the gunmen as Chérif and Said Kouachi. Police say they have located them in a district in northern France, but it remains unclear if they have been detained. Another suspect, 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, turned himself in on Wednesday at a police station in northern France. Mourad, a recent high school graduate, proclaimed his innocence. The two brothers were known to French intelligence services. In 2008, Chérif Kouachi was sentenced to three years in prison for his involvement in a network of sending volunteer fighters to Iraq to fight alongside al-Qaeda. At the time, Kouachi told the court that he had been motivated to travel to Iraq by images of atrocities committed by U.S. troops in Abu Ghraib prison. There are reports the two brothers, who were born in Paris, returned from fighting in Syria last summer. The remaining staff at Charlie Hebdo, meanwhile, has announced it will continue to publish on schedule.

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