1 of 4 | People lay flowers in solidarity with the victims of the terror attack on the Hyper Casher jewish grocery store (background right) in Paris, on 10 January 2015. Maya Vidon-White/UPI |
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PARIS, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, who was believed to be involved in the attack on a Jewish market and the shooting of a policewoman, in relation to Wednesday's attack on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, reportedly left France before the attacks.
Two hostage situations came to a deadly end around Paris on Friday, with two suspects in the Charlie Hebdo massacre killed in a standoff with police, as miles away four hostages were slain in a related attack on a market.
The hostage-taker at the market in Porte de Vincennes was Amedi Coulibaly, 32, the man suspected of killing a Paris policewoman Thursday morning, one day after the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices. Coulibaly was killed by police. Three hostages were also killed.
Shortly before the police raid, Coulibaly claimed to have coordinated his actions with the two brothers, Said and Cherif Kouachi, suspected of killing 12 in the attack on Charlie Hebdo, who were themselves holed up with a hostage in a printworks building in Dammartin-en-Goele, about 22 miles northeast of Paris.
Boumeddiene, still at large and considered armed and dangerous, was allegedly Coulibaly's active accomplice in the market attack and was initially suspected to have escaped along with hostages as police stormed the building, though it is now unclear whether she was there. A manhunt is underway.
The Wall Street Journal and CNN, as well as French media, citing French authorities and Turkish officials, are reporting Boumeddiene made her way to Turkey, believed to be en route to Syria.
According to an official in the Turkish Prime Minister's office, CNN reports, Boumeddiene's location was tracked to the Turkey-Syria border after she arrived Jan. 2 in Istanbul from a flight out of Madrid. Boumeddiene was reportedly accompanied by a man, and the two were monitored after Turkey's Risk Assessment Center flagged them during a routine screening of passengers.
On Friday, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula provided a statement to The Intercept claiming responsibility for the attack by the Kouachi brothers.
"The target was in France in particular because of its obvious role in the war on Islam and oppressed nations," the statement read.
Investigators are still trying to confirm alleged ties between the perpetrators and AQAP, based in Yemen, and other terror networks including the Islamic State.
Hollande called the kosher market standoff an "appalling anti-Semitic act" and praised the efforts of law enforcement. A police source told CNN Saturday that French law enforcement officers have been instructed to erase social media accounts and to remain armed at all times because of the activation of terror cells in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, France prepares for a unity rally in Paris on Sunday. The march will be attended by some 30 world leaders including David Cameron and Anglea Merkel. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will attend the rally, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported Saturday, while the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted the Israeli leader would also visit Paris.
Additional reporting by JC Finley, Danielle Haynes and Fred Lambert.
