Al-Qaeda In Yemen Claims Responsibility For Charlie Hebdo Massacre

France will send an aircraft carrier to the Middle East as part of its role in the international campaign against ISIS militants in Iraq, President François Hollande announced Wednesday.

The French Parliament voted yesterday to continue their role in the U.S.-led military campaign against ISIS militants.

The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier “will work in close cooperation with coalition forces,” Hollande said in a speech aboard the vessel off France’s southern coast, according to Reuters.

Amedy Coulibaly, the terrorist who killed a lone French policewoman and four hostages inside a Paris kosher supermarket, pledged his loyalty to ISIS in a video filmed before he carried out his attacks.

In a statement to Agence France Presse, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammad Hussein criticized “publishing of cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the disregard for the feelings of Muslims.”

“This insult has hurt the feelings of nearly two billion Muslims all over the world. The cartoons and other slander damage relations between the followers of the [Abrahamic] faiths,” he said.

Mufti Hussein, who was appointed by the Palestinian Authority leadership to oversee Jerusalem’s Muslim sites, also condemned “attacks against innocent people, and terrorism in all its forms.

“Islam renounces the practice of violence against innocents, whether they are Muslim or anything else,” he said.

In one incident, a Le Mans mosque was attacked with four grenades and gunfire through its windows, The Independent reported.

According to France’s National Observatory Against Islamophobia, several minor incidents, including racist graffiti, threats, and intimidation, have gone unreported. Muslim-owned businesses have also been targeted, the report said.

Armed security guards have been positioned outside some mosques, including the Grand Mosque of Paris.

Charlie Hebdo’s distributor, Messageries lyonnaises de presse (MLP), told BuzzFeed News that the 700,000 copies sent out this morning were “most certainly” sold out, and 500,000 more copies will be distributed Thursday.

MLP also confirmed that this week’s edition of Charlie Hebdo would be sold for 56 days, through March. The remainder of the 5 million print run will be distributed during that time, MLP said.

The ultimate print run was expanded from 3 million to 5 million on Wednesday, some media outlets reported.

Reuters reported that the video says the terrorists had “been assigned” to carry out last week’s attacks “vengeance” for insulting the Prophet.

In the video, the group’s Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi said: “As for the blessed Battle of Paris, we, the Organisation of al Qaeda al Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the Messenger of God.”

Reuters reported:

He added without elaborating that the strike was carried out in “implementation” of the order of overall al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, who has called for strikes by Muslims in the West using any means they can find.

Ansi also gave credit for the operation to slain AQAP propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki, a preacher cited by one of the gunmen in remarks to French media as a financer of the attack.

It was not clear how Awlaki, killed by a U.S. drone in 2011, had a direct link to the Paris assault, but he inspired several militants in the United States and Britain to acts of violence.

Ansi didn’t claim responsibility for the attack on the kosher supermarket that led to the death of four hostages.

CNN reported:

But “it was a blessing from Allah” that the two attacks took place about the same time, al-Ansi said.

Iran has condemned the publication of an image of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover of the new issue of Charlie Hebdo, saying it is “insulting” and “provocative”, AP reported.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said the cover “provokes the emotions of Muslims and hurts their feelings around the world, and could fan the flame of a vicious circle of extremism.”

The print run will now be extended to 5 million in order to meet demand.

Controversial French comedian Dieudonné has been arrested following a Facebook post in which he referred to himself as “Charlie Coulibaly,” a judicial source reportedly told AFP.

On his official Facebook page, Dieudonné — full name Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala — said a dozen police officers came to his home at 7 a.m. local time and arrested him in front of his children. He also posted pictures of the incident.

Dieudonné’s now-deleted Facebook post on Sunday mocked the unity march in Paris, and led to authorities investigating the comedian for justifying terrorism.

Dieudonné said attending the march felt like “a magic moment equal to the Big Bang that created the universe, or to a lesser (more local) extent to the coronation of Vercingetorix,” adding he felt like “Charlie Coulibaly” (a reference to Charlie Hebdo magazine and gunman and hostage-taker Amedy Coulibaly).

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve described the post as “shameful,” prompting Dieudonné to write another post attempting to defend himself.

Dieudonné became infamous for inventing the “quenelle” gesture, which resembles an inverted Nazi salute. He is openly anti-Zionist and has been accused of anti-semitism.

The cartoon shows two terrorists arriving in heaven asking, “Where are the 70 virgins?” In the background slain Charlie Hebdo staffers are seen having an orgy, according to the BBC’s Hugh Schofield.

Emblazoned over multiple images of the scheduled Prophet Muhammad cover is the headline reading, “Je suis en kiosque,” or “I am on the newspaper stands.”

Surviving Charlie Hebdo staffers have been working out of the Libération newspaper offices to put together their next edition.

A number of leading Muslim groups have warned of potential repercussions from the publication of an image of Prophet Muhammad on the cover of the next Charlie Hebdo edition.

Egypt’s Dar al-Iftaa, an Islamic institute that issues religious edicts known as fatwas, warned the French satirical newspaper against publishing its next edition, describing it in a Facebook post as an “unjustified provocation to the feelings of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.”

Warning that the issue would “stir a new wave of hatred,” the group said the Prophet Muhammad cover would be “a dangerous escalation in face [sic] of human values, liberations, cultural diversity, tolerance, and respect to human rights which are very vital to maintain societal peace.”

“Furthermore, it deepens the sentiments of hatred and discrimination in the hearts of Muslims and ‪‎non-Muslims‬ alike,” the group wrote.

Dar al-Iftaa called on the French government to reject the newspaper’s “racist actions.”

The group has also “vehemently condemned” the attack on Charlie Hebdo staff.

In France, a coalition of Muslim groups called for calm ahead of Wednesday’s publication.

The Union of French Islamic Organizations issued a statement, carried by the French Council of the Muslim Faith, “calling on the Muslim community of France to keep their calm and avoid reacting emotionally or in a manner incompatible with their dignity and their reserve, out of respect for freedom of expression.”

The group also expressed its concern over what it said was a high number of anti-Muslim acts in recent days, calling on the authorities to remain vigilant and ensure the safety of mosques.

Reporting by Anais Bordages, Rosie Gray, Marie Telling, David Mack, Tom Namako, Alan White, and Francis Whittaker.

This is a developing story. Please check back here or at BuzzFeed News on Twitter for updates.