On Friday evening, the suspected terrorist brothers who attacked Charlie Hebdo were killed in a hostage standoff. French anti-terror police and Special Forces cornered the brothers Said and Cherrif Kouachi in a printing business. Located just 30 miles outside of Paris, the gunmen took a single hostage at the printing business in Dammartin.
CBS reports that the printing business only had about five employees, including the owner. French forces surrounded the building, which is a warehouse in a business district. After an exchange of automatic gunfire and small explosions that carried on for about three minutes, the Kouachi brothers were killed and the single hostage was secured. An officer was slightly injured during the raid, say officials.
The brothers allegedly responsible for the 12 deaths on Wednesday spurred a powerful response from the French nation as thousands of citizens gathered in memory of the deceased cartoonists and journalists. Artists and activists from around the world voiced their solidarity with France and the publication this past week. From President Barrack Obama to the artist Banksy, support has been shown around the globe.
Cherrif and Said Kouachi were in their early thirties and Said Kouachi is believed to have trained with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, for a few months. Cherrif, the younger brother, was previously arrested for attempting to recruit members into Islamic militant groups. Both of the brothers are on the U.S. no-fly list.
"I want to salute the courage, bravery, efficiency gendarmes, police officers, all those who have participated in these operations," said French President Francois Hollande in reference to the French forces that subdued the Muslim extremists.
Just thirty miles from Dammartin, another hostage situation took place almost simultaneously. The gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, is suspected to have killed a French policewoman on Thursday. He is allegedly linked to the Kouachi brothers. Coulibaly held numerous hostages at a Kosher supermarket in Paris. French officers killed the 32-year old gunman in a raid. Fifteen hostages were rescued; four were killed in the process.
French officials are also pursuing Hayat Boumeddiene. The 26 year old female is reportedly an accomplice of Coulibaly in the killing of the French police officer, and also his girlfriend.
