Twelve Are Killed in Terrorist Attack at Newspaper in Paris

(Jan. 7):

Two masked gunmen storm the office of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly magazine, in Paris, and kill 12 people, including the paper's top editor, Stephane Charbonnier, several cartoonists, and two police officers. Five others are critically injured. The provocative magazine is known for publishing charged cartoons that satirized the Prophet Muhammad, most religions, the pope, and several world leaders. French President Francois Holland responds to the attack by saying that "France is in shock." It is the worst terrorist attack in the country since World War II. U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders condemn the attack. 

(Jan. 8):

 A manhunt is on for the two gunmen, Said Kouachi, 34, and his younger brother Cherif, 32. Meanwhile, the driver of the getaway car, Hamyd Mourad, 18, turns himself in at a police station about 145 miles northeast of Paris. News reports say the brothers have connections to Al Qaeda in Yemen. France holds a moment of silence in memory of those killed in the attack. 

(Jan. 9):

 The Kouachi brothers take a hostage at a printing facility outside Paris. French police launch an assault on the building, freeing the hostage and killing the suspects. Meanwhile, in another incident in Paris, Amedy Coulibaly allegedly takes several hostages at a kosher supermarket. Police kill Coulibaly, but four hostages are also killed. Coulibaly is also blamed for the shooting death of a female police officer on Jan. 8. Coulibaly reportedly has ties to the Kouachi brothers. 

(Jan. 11): 

About 1.5 million people and more than 40 heads of state, including French president Hollande, German chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, march in Paris to show an unified voice in calling for an end to violent extremism, to support or freedom of expression, and to mourn the victims of the terrorist attacks. The crowd is made up of people of many races and creeds. 

(Jan. 12):

 France deploys 10,000 troops to Jewish schools, synagogues and other locations. 

(Jan. 14):

 Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims responsibility for the attack on the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 people. The militant group says in a statement that the leader of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, ordered the attack in retaliation for the magazine's caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.