World leaders breathed a big sigh of relief on Friday after two terrorists who staged a murderous attack on the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper and a gunman who seized a kosher market were killed in Paris.
Before an education speech in Knoxville, Tenn., President Obama expressed his hope that the bloody rampage across Paris, which left 17 innocent people dead by Friday afternoon, had finally ended.
“We’re hopeful that the immediate threat is now resolved, thanks to the courage and professionalism of the French personnel on the ground, but the French government continues to face the threat of terrorism and has to remain vigilant,” he said.
Cops staged dual raids, storming a printing plant where brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi were hiding out after they massacred journalists at Charlie Hebdo’s headquarters — and the Jewish supermarket where another terrorist, Amedy Coulibaly, was holding shoppers at gunpoint.
Cherif KouachiGetty ImagesAll three terrorists died during the raids, but Coulibaly’s accomplice, Hayat Boumeddiene, remains at large.
Said Kouachi“The situation is fluid,” Obama warned. “[French] President [Francois] Hollande’s made it clear that they’re going to do whatever is necessary to protect their people.”
Amedy CoulibalyGetty ImagesHe pledged his support to French citizens, calling the country “our oldest ally.”
“I want the people of France to know that the United States stands with you today, stands with you tomorrow,” he said.
European leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, will gather in Paris Sunday for a “unity rally” in the city’s Place de la Republique.
“We will not allow fear to change us #Europe,” Renzi tweeted Friday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will be attending the rally, also pledged her support.
“I think it is an important sign of Franco-German friendship that we stand side by side at a time like this,” she said.
“I am impressed with how the French people are standing together in the face of this barbaric attack.”
Hollande phoned Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu after the sieges ended Friday afternoon.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu asked the president of France to keep up the increased security on Jewish institutions even after things return to normal,” an Israeli government source told AFP.
Meanwhile, even the head of Hezbollah condemned the brutal attacks.
Hassan Nasrallah said Friday the slaughter has insulted Islam more than “even those who have attacked the messenger of God through books depicting the prophet or making films depicting the prophet or drawing cartoons of the prophet,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
People all over the world have lit candles and laid flowers before French embassies as they grieve the 12 slain at Charlie Hebdo.
With Post Wire Services
