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Charlie Hebdo Suspects Dead in Raid; Hostage Taker in Paris Is Also Killed Charlie Hebdo Suspects Dead in Raid; Hostage Taker in Paris Is Also Killed
(about 6 hours later)
PARIS — A tense, dramatic day of spiraling crises that had paralyzed parts of Paris and its suburbs, drawn an army of law enforcement officers and shaken the French government ended in bloodshed on Friday, as the police conducted nearly simultaneous raids in response to two hostage situations that had extended a wave of terror. PARIS — The French police killed three terrorists on Friday in raids, ending three days of bloodshed that shook a nation struggling with Islamic extremists.
The operations against two suspected militants in a printing factory north of Paris, and against a third man who had seized hostages at a kosher market in the eastern part of the city, began with explosions, the sound of gunfire, and then quiet. At least 17 French citizens were killed by terrorists in the chaos, first in a massacre at a satirical newspaper that some Muslims believed insulted the Prophet Muhammad, and then in a roadside shooting on Thursday and two standoffs on Friday that left the gunmen and four of their hostages dead.
The militants in the factory, two brothers, had set off the terror on Wednesday by spraying the offices of a satirical newspaper with gunfire, massacring 12 people. An associate was suspected of assassinating a police officer on Thursday before taking hostages at the kosher market on Friday. All three were killed in the police operations. The raids, led by heavily armed elite police units, unfolded nearly simultaneously on the eastern edge of Paris and north of the city — at a printing plant where the two brothers of Algerian descent suspected in the newspaper attack held a hostage, and at a kosher supermarket where an armed associate of African origin had lined the place with explosives and threatened to kill the shoppers at his mercy.
A hostage who had been held by the two brothers was freed unharmed, the authorities said. In a solemn address to the nation Friday evening, President François Hollande called this week’s violence, the worst spasm of terrorism in France since the 1954-62 Algerian War, the work of “madmen, fanatics” who had created “a tragedy for the nation that we were obliged to confront.”
But four hostages were killed and five injured at the supermarket, although it was not immediately clear how many of those might have been shot in the final assault. Five hostages were reported to have been freed unharmed, a senior French police official said. During the assault on the Hyper Cacher supermarket, the police units were sprayed with bullets, said Christophe Tirante, a senior police official.
Addressing the nation Friday night, President François Hollande saluted the special police forces that had conducted the operations. He called for vigilance and unity against “fanatics.” The police also said the supermarket had been booby-trapped, making it especially hard to get to the hostage taker.
“It is our best weapon,” he said. “We can fight against anything that could divide us.” Rocco Contento, a spokesman for the Unité S.G.P. police union in Paris, said the police had been helped by someone hiding in a cold meat locker in the supermarket who had texted helpful messages. Four of the hostages were killed, but the Paris prosecutor, François Molins, said that all had died when the terrorist stormed the supermarket in the early afternoon, not in the police raid.
Mr. Hollande also labeled the attack at the kosher supermarket a horrific “anti-Semitic act.” Denouncing the attack on the store as a “terrifying act of anti-Semitism,” Mr. Hollande saluted the security forces for their “courage, bravura and efficiency,” but warned that France was “not finished with the threats of which it is the target.”
“Following this ordeal, I can assure you: We will emerge even stronger,” he said. Also far from over are the shock waves created by a drama that sharply escalated longstanding worries about France’s impoverished immigrant suburbs and the radicalization of disenfranchised young people on society’s margins. And many questions remain about the failure of the French security apparatus to disrupt the actions of militants who had links to operatives working with Al Qaeda in Yemen. The militants had been known to the police for years and had been closely monitored by the intelligence services.
Though the immediate crises had ended, France remained deeply traumatized, and a period of mourning began for the 17 victims who had been swept up in the violence. The attack on the satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, has already been called “France’s September 11” by Le Monde. Al Qaeda in Yemen, also known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, did not issue an official statement on the events in France. But a member claiming to speak for the group sent The New York Times a statement saying that the attacks had been orchestrated through its leadership in Yemen. “The target was in France in particular because of its obvious role in the war on Islam and oppressed nations,” the statement said.
The attack on Wednesday set off soul-searching about the integration of Muslims in France’s impoverished immigrant suburbs, the radicalization of disenfranchised young people on society’s margins, and the failure of the French security apparatus to fend off the assault by the suspects, who had been known to the police for years and had been closely monitored by the intelligence services. Concerns about further attacks were underscored by remarks on Friday from Harith al-Nadhari, a militant cleric who speaks for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The Associated Press reported that he had issued a recording on the group’s Twitter feed that denounced the “filthy” French, called the dead militants heroes and warned France, “You will not enjoy peace as long as you wage war on God and his prophets and fight Muslims.”
One of the two brothers, Saïd Kouachi, 34, had traveled to Yemen in 2011 and received terrorist training from Al Qaeda’s affiliate there before returning to France, according to American officials. His younger brother Chérif Kouachi, a sometime pizza delivery man and fishmonger, had been arrested in France in 2005 as he prepared to leave for Syria, the first leg of a trip he had hoped would take him to Iraq, and convicted three years later. The events are already resonating in French politics and could further strengthen a surging far-right party, the National Front, which has railed against what it says is the failure of immigrants, Muslims in particular, to integrate into French society.
During the attack on the newspaper, the assailants identified themselves as being part of Al Qaeda and shouted, “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great.” Their blatant embrace of Islam during an act of violence has been seized on by those who have been warning about a gulf between Islam and the values of the West. But the raids on Friday — one on the printing plant in Dammartin-en-Goële, a village near Charles de Gaulle Airport 25 miles north of Paris, and the other on the kosher store in Porte de Vincennes at the eastern edge of the city — eased a dark and at times panicked mood that had gripped the public and politicians since the massacre of 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper on Wednesday.
The events are already resonating in French politics and could embolden the ascendant far-right National Front, which has railed against the failure of immigrants, and Muslims in particular, to integrate into French society. Fear that the crisis was slipping beyond the control of Mr. Hollande’s already beleaguered Socialist government had stirred calls from some conservative politicians for a state of emergency. There had also been several retaliatory attacks on mosques and an explosion at a kebab shop in eastern France.
They could further damage the standing of Mr. Hollande, one of the most unpopular presidents in recent French history, who was already confronting a struggling economy and questions about his leadership. Mr. Hollande, denouncing racism and anti-Semitism, said the week’s mayhem had “nothing to do with Islam” and described unity as the nation’s “best weapon.”
The attacks have also spawned fears among Muslims. In the hours after the newspaper was targeted, two Muslim places of worship were shot at, and there was an explosion at a kebab shop in eastern France. No one was hurt in those assaults. Saïd Kouachi, 34, the older of the two brothers suspected of carrying out the attack on Charlie Hebdo, traveled to Yemen in 2011 and received training from Al Qaeda’s affiliate there before returning to France, according to American officials.
The Kouachi brothers had been on the run since the attack on Charlie Hebdo but were tracked to the printing plant in Dammartin-en-Goële, 25 miles north of Paris, early Friday. They were armed and holding a single hostage. His younger brother, Chérif Kouachi, 32, a sometime pizza delivery man and fishmonger, said he, too, had trained in Yemen. He had been arrested in France in 2005 as he prepared to leave for Syria, the first leg of a trip he had hoped would take him to Iraq; he was convicted three years later.
After hours of unsuccessful negotiations, during which the brothers told the authorities that they were ready to die as martyrs, the police began the simultaneous raids at about 5 p.m. During the attack on the newspaper, the assailants identified themselves as part of Al Qaeda in Yemen and shouted, “Allahu akbar,” meaning, “God is great.” Their open embrace of Islam during an act of violence was seized on by those who had been warning about what they called the gulf between Islam and the values of the West.
Rocco Contento, a spokesman for the Unité S.G.P. police union in Paris, who confirmed that the brothers were dead, said the raids had unfolded rapidly. The hostage taker at the supermarket was identified as Amedy Coulibaly, a 32-year-old Frenchman of African descent who had fatally shot a police officer in the south of Paris on Thursday. He was a friend of the younger Kouachi brother, Chérif.
“The operation in Dammartin is finished,” Mr. Contento said. “The two suspects have been killed, and the hostage has been freed. The special counterterrorism forces located where the terrorists are and broke down the door. They took them by surprise. It lasted a matter of minutes.” The police said that both Mr. Coulibaly and Chérif Kouachi were followers of Djamel Beghal, a French-Algerian champion of jihad who was jailed in 2001 for planning an attack on the American Embassy in Paris.
While the brothers were holding the printing plant, a man said to be an associate, Amedy Coulibaly, seized hostages at Hyper Cacher, a kosher supermarket in Porte de Vincennes. The police said Mr. Coulibaly had an accomplice, identified as Hayat Boumeddiene, 26. Her whereabouts on Friday was unclear.
Mr. Coulibaly, who the police said had gunned down a female police officer in Montrouge, a suburb south of Paris, on Thursday, threatened to kill his hostages if the police attacked the Kouachi brothers. Alain Grignard, a senior Belgian counterterrorism official who has investigated jihadist groups in France for decades, said in a telephone interview that, while it was uncertain whether the attacks had been coordinated, it was clear that the attackers had known each other and been part of the same network. He said their training and expertise showed that they were “not kids from the poor, working-class suburbs who just decided to do this.”
In a measure of the jitters pervading the city during the daylong siege, the police ordered shopkeepers on Rue des Rosiers, a street with many Jewish-owned businesses, to close as a precaution. The attack in Porte de Vincennes appeared to have been calculated to distract attention from the Kouachi brothers as they tried to avoid capture by the police, who had been searching for them since Wednesday, Mr. Grignard said.
Earlier in the day, the police said that Mr. Coulibaly was believed to be part of the same jihadist network as the Kouachi brothers, and that a terrorism investigation had been opened. While Mr. Coulibaly held the hostages, they issued a photograph of him and appealed for witnesses to come forward. After a fruitless chase that extended into northern France and back toward Paris, the police tracked the brothers early Friday to Dammartin-en-Goële. The brothers, armed with Kalashnikov rifles and a grenade launcher, seized the printing plant and took a hostage.
They also published a photograph of a woman, Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, who they said was also linked to the supermarket attack; earlier, they had also linked her to the Montrouge attack. They said she and Mr. Coulibaly were both armed and dangerous. The police said the brothers had been located by helicopters with heat sensors. Soon afterward, residents of Dammartin-en-Goële, a sleepy rural village of 8,000, saw what looked like commandos drop from helicopters on ropes.
Before the raid on the printing plant, Mohamed Douhane, a senior police officer who was following the negotiations with the Kouachis, said that the police were in contact with the two suspects and that they hoped to resolve the standoff peacefully. Planes at Charles de Gaulle Airport nearby were advised to avoid certain runways.
“We have established communication with the Kouachi brothers,” he said. “They said they wanted to die as martyrs. They are behaving like two determined terrorists who are certainly physically exhausted, but who want to escape with one last big show of force and heroic resistance. They feel trapped and know that their last hours have come.” Officials ordered residents to stay indoors and close window shutters. Students were locked down in local schools, and police officers sealed off all roads.
The police said the brothers had been located at the printing warehouse by helicopters equipped with heat sensors. Shortly afterward, residents saw security forces drop down on ropes from helicopters hovering over the area. While the brothers took control of the printing plant, the crisis took an unnerving turn when their associate, Mr. Coulibaly, seized hostages at the kosher supermarket about 30 miles away.
Aircraft had been advised to avoid certain runways at the airport as a precaution. Residents of Dammartin-en-Goële were told to stay indoors. Students were locked down in their schools and were being kept away from windows and doors. Shortly after noon, town officials announced that students at schools closest to the area of the operations were being evacuated by the police and taken to another school to be picked up by their parents. Helicopters were circling the town as a cold drizzle fell. Mr. Coulibaly, who the authorities said had gunned down a female police officer on Thursday in Montrouge, a suburb south of Paris, threatened to kill his hostages if the police attacked the Kouachi brothers.
Mr. Hollande, after meeting with local officials at the Interior Ministry in the early hours of the siege, said, “France is going through a trying time,” and called this week’s attack “the worst of the past 50 years.” The authorities said they believed Mr. Coulibaly was part of the same jihadist network as the brothers, and issued photographs of him and Ms. Boumeddiene.
In a measure of the jitters pervading Paris during the sieges, the police ordered shopkeepers on Rue des Rosiers, a street with many Jewish-owned businesses, to close as a precaution. The French news media said the Grand Synagogue of Paris had closed for security reasons, not hosting Shabbat services for the first time since World War II.
In an effort to calm the rising alarm, Mr. Hollande sought to assure the public that Paris remained safe. He walked, escorted by bodyguards, from his office at the Élysée Palace in the center of the city to the nearby headquarters of the Interior Ministry.
“France is going through a trying time,” he told officials at the ministry, vowing to regain control after attacks he described as “the worst of the past 50 years.”
With helicopters circling Dammartin-en-Goële as a cold drizzle fell, the police established contact with the brothers in the printing plant and began negotiations.
“They said they wanted to die as martyrs,” said Mohamed Douhane, a senior police officer. “They are behaving like two determined terrorists who are certainly physically exhausted, but who want to escape with one last big show of force and heroic resistance. They feel trapped and know that their last hours have come.”
The brothers also called BFMTV, a French broadcaster, and Chérif Kouachi told the station that he had been sent on a mission by Al Qaeda in Yemen.
Apparently responding to American officials who said his older brother, Saïd, had met in Yemen with Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born Qaeda chief who was later killed in a drone strike, Chérif told the station: “I was sent, me, Chérif Kouachi, by Al Qaeda of Yemen. I went over there, and it was Anwar al-Awlaki who financed me.”
Mr. Coulibaly, at the supermarket, also spoke with the broadcaster but said he was from the Islamic State, the militant group that has seized parts of Iraq and Syria. He said his attack had been coordinated with the Kouachi brothers, BFMTV reported.
After hours of unsuccessful negotiations, the police decided to take the offensive, starting raids at about 5 p.m., just as dusk fell.
Mr. Contento, the police union spokesman, said both Kouachi brothers were killed in an assault that lasted just a few minutes.
“The two suspects have been killed, and the hostage has been freed,” he said. “The special counterterrorism forces located where the terrorists are and broke down the door. They took them by surprise.”