Paris attack: Video of gunman raises questions of affiliations

Paris, Jan 12: Two days after his death, a video has emerged of one of the Paris gunmen pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group, while his two fellow militants have claimed to be from al-Qaida a fiercely rival extremist organisation.

That seeming contradiction has raised questions about the connections among the three French attackers, whether they acted with the direct involvement or knowledge of the networks, and whether their friendship allowed them to put aside the rift between the groups.

The Islamic State group does not cooperate with al-Qaida's militants and actually fights them for territory in a side conflict of Syria's civil war.

In video verified by the SITE Intelligence Group, Amedy Coulibaly said he had worked in coordination with Said and Cherif Kouachi, the "brothers from our team," who carried out the massacre at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday.

"We did things a bit together and a bit apart, so that it'd have more impact," he said in fluent French, adding that he had helped the brothers financially with "a few thousand euros" for the operation. The video also showed him doing pushups, and featured automatic rifles, pistols and ammunition.

He spoke beneath the black-and-white flag used by many Islamic militants. Coulibaly explained why the publication and his target the kosher supermarket were selected.

"What we are doing is completely legitimate, given what they are doing," he said. The video appeared yesterday on militant websites, and two men who dealt drugs with Coulibaly confirmed his identify to The Associated Press. Police said they were investigating the conditions under which the video was posted.

Prosecutors said Coulibaly killed four hostages Friday in the supermarket, killed a policewoman, and shot and wounded a jogger. He died when police stormed the market, just minutes after security forces killed the Kouachi brothers.

Survivors say the Charlie Hebdo attackers claimed they were from al-Qaida in Yemen, the group the US considers the most dangerous offshoot of that network.

PTI