The terrorists killed today in separate police raids both were in contact with a French TV station in the hours before their death offering twisted explanations for their atrocities.

A journalist for BFMTV called the printing plant where Cherif Kouachi, who along with his brother Saidmassacred 12 people in an attack Wednesday on the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper, was holding a hostage.

Separately, their jihadi cohort Amedy Coulibaly, who was holding nearly 20 hostages in a kosher market in Paris, called the station to swear allegiance to ISIS, and declare that the two terrorist attacks were “synchronised.”

Cherif Kouachi said he had been funded by a network loyal to Anwar al-Awlaki, the former American-born leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who was killed by a drone strike in 2011 in Yemen.

Here is a transcript of Kouachi’s conversation, as reported by the web site BuzzFeed:

Kouachi: We’re just telling you that we are the defenders of the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and that I, Cherif Kouachi, was sent by “Al Qaeda in Yemen,” ok?
Journalist: Ok
Kouachi: And that I went there and that it’s imam Al-Awlaki that financed me.
Journalist: Ok, and how long ago was it?
Kouachi: It was a long time ago. Before he was killed. [inaudible]
Journalist: So you came back to France not long ago?
Kouachi: Oh yes, a while ago… the secret service I know them, don’t worry about it. I know very well how I was able to do things well.
Journalist: Ok, and now there is only you and your brother here?
Kouachi: That’s not your problem.
Journalist: Some people are behind you, or not?
Kouachi: That’s not your problem.
Journalist: Ok, and are you planning on killing again in the name of Allah or not?
Kouachi: Kill who?
Journalist: I don’t know. That’s what I’m asking you.
Kouachi: Did we kill any civilians in the past two days people have been looking for us?
Journalist: You killed journalists.
Kouachi: No but, did we kill any civilians? Civilians, or people during the two days you spent looking for us?
Journalist: Wait, wait, Cherif, Cherif, did you kill this morning?
Kouachi: But we are not killers. We are defenders of the prophet. We don’t kill women, we don’t kill anyone. We defend the prophet. If someone offend the prophet then there is no problem, we can kill him. But we don’t kill women. We’re not like you. You’re the ones killing the children of Muslims in Irak, in Syria, in Afghanistan. That’s you. Not us. We have honor codes in Islam.
Journalist: But right now you avenged yourself, no? You killed people?
Kouachi: We avenged ourselves exactly. You said it well. You said it yourself, we avenged ourselves.