Charlie Hebdo attack- Mickey Mouse project failed, but inspiration lingers on

The brutal attack at the Paris headquarters of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo which has so far killed 12 persons brings back memories of the deadly Mickey Mouse Project being planned by David Headley and his men. Incidentally the magazine office of Charlie Hebdo was firebombed for featuring prophet Muhammad as a "guest editor in 2011.

A similar war cry was raised by David Headley and his men when they plotted a major strike on the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten which had posted caricatures of Prophet Mohammad. This project was nicknamed the Mickey Mouse Project. [Paris Shooting: As it happened]

The message is the same:

Whether it is the Al-Qaeda, the ISIS or their wannabe sympathizers, the message that has been sent out to these publications is that they will not take kindly anyone mocking their religion. The lead up to the planning to the Mickey Mouse project witnessed several threats being issued by the Al-Qaeda in particular to the editorial staff of the Jullands-Posten.

After the Charlie Hebdo was petrol bombed back in 2011, investigators went on to state that it could have been the Al-Qaeda or its sympathizers who could have carried out the attack. They also pointed out that the message was don't poke fun of our religion.

Inspired by Mickey Mouse Project:

The first attack on Charlie Hebdo led the investigators to believe that although the Mickey Mouse project had failed, it still managed to inspire many Jihadis. The planned attack on the Jullandus Posten may have not come through but it did inspire many.

Even the investigators probing the first attack on Charlie Hedo in 2011 probed whether the incident was carried out by those who planned the Mickey Mouse Project or were they just inspired by the same. However the fact of the matter was that the Mickey Mouse project did give sympathizers of terrorist groups an inspiration to carry out attacks on magazine and news paper offices which were found to be making fun of Islam.

What is the Mickey Mouse Project?

The Mickey Mouse project was handed over to David Headley the same person who carried out the reconnaissance of targets for the 26/11 attack. The plan which was hatched by Ilyas Kashmiri, the chief of the Al-Qaeda's 313 Brigade intended to target the Jullands-Posten office and its staff in Copenhagen.

It was a revenge attack for putting up caricatures of Prophet Mohammad.

However the plan did not go through as David Headley was arrested by the FBI. In his confession he said that he was paid 1500 US dollars for this project as an advance. He describes meeting with Kashmiri in 2009 in Pakistan and planning this attack.

Headley said that he scouted the Copenhangen offices of the Jyllands-Posten and also its headquarters in Aarhus. He further said that they were deciding on whether to carry out a suicide strike or take hostages.

Inspired attacks:

With terrorist groups relying so heavily on the social media their thought process is known very well to the world. The social media run by these terrorist groups have discussed in detail about the publishing of material poking fun of Islam. There have also been discussions on the Mickey Mouse project and how it should have materialized.

The attack that took place in France today appears to be a well coordinated one. It could have either been planned by a terrorist group or an inspired strike by lone wolves. The Al-Qaeda has been making repeated calls for lone wolves to come forward and carry out terror strikes.