French Police Announce Identification of Attackers in Paris

French police sources and Paris officials reported the identification of two Algerian-French brothers and a homeless individual as the three main perpetrators of the terrorist attack on the satirical weekly "Charlie Hebdo." CNN reported on Wednesday evening, January 7, citing the Deputy Mayor of Paris, that the attackers are two brothers aged 32 and 34, and an 18-year-old. The report indicates that the 18-year-old assailant resides in the city of "Reims." CNN also stated that French police have identified and searched an apartment in the suburbs of Paris in connection with the terrorist attack and are currently searching for the attackers' hiding places. However, the Associated Press published the names of the attackers as "Said and Cherif Kouachi" and "Hamid Mourad." According to a French police official, these three individuals have been linked to a Yemeni terrorist network. The Associated Press adds that Cherif Kouachi was tried and sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for terrorist charges and sending jihadists to Iraq. The French weekly "Le Point" has also published more information about these three individuals on its website. This publication states that Said and Cherif Kouachi, the two brothers aged 32 and 34, had returned to France from Syria this summer. According to this publication, "Hamid Mourad," the third suspect, born in 1996, is a homeless individual who registered at a school in Reims last year and is currently in his final year of high school. Le Point then writes that Hamid Mourad was responsible for driving the attackers' vehicle. No reports have yet been published regarding the arrest of these individuals. The police have launched a wide search to find the suspects, and according to Reuters, 800 French soldiers have also joined the police forces in this effort. The attack on Wednesday against the "Charlie Hebdo" weekly in Paris was the deadliest terrorist incident in the country in the past half-century. In this attack, 12 people were killed and 11 others were injured. The "Charlie Hebdo" weekly had published a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in 2011, which subsequently became the target of a bombing. Paris and other cities in France, such as Toulouse and Lyon, are currently witnessing gatherings of tens of thousands of French citizens protesting against this terrorist attack. French President Francois Hollande has also declared Thursday a day of national mourning.