French police have identified the three Islamist gunmen who mounted Wednesdays terrorist attack at a Paris satirical magazines office and said one had been convicted of terrorism charges in 2008. Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, named the suspects to the Associated Press as Frenchmen Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi, in their early 30s, as well as 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, whose nationality wasnt immediately clear. One of the officials said they were linked to a Yemeni terrorist network. All three remain at large. Cherif Kouachi was convicted in 2008 of terrorism charges for helping funnel fighters to Iraqs insurgency and sentenced to 18 months in prison. The gunmen moved with the skill and precision of highly-trained commandos, military experts told FoxNews. Masked and garbed in black, the AK-47 wielding assassins appeared to be executing a well-coordinated plan in the late-morning raid, methodically seeking out and executing those targeted for death, and making a clean getaway -- all in the span of a few minutes. Moments after the 11:30 a.m. attack, the three assassins were gone. A manhunt continued into the evening in a shaken and locked-down Paris. A chilling video of two gunmen stopping their getaway car to wound, chase down and execute a police officer raising his hand in a plea for mercy shows shows tactics and movement that only comes with training, said retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, a Fox News strategic analyst. “It was evident immediately that this was a carefully planned, sophisticated operation by well-trained, well-armed veterans of jihad,” Peters said. “This was not a pick-up team. These butchers were methodical and efficient. They werent just terrorists: They were terrorist commandos.” In the video, the killers are seen advancing along the street in perfect unison, seamlessly trading places as one man provides cover fire and the other moves forward. They also were dressed in black tactical gear and balaclavas to conceal their faces. foxnews/world/2015/01/07/terrorist-commandos-paris-gunmen-likely-highly-trained-say-experts/
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 23:32:06 +0000