2 suspects in Paris attack were on US no-fly list

This photo provided by The Paris Police Prefecture Thursday, Jan.8, 2015 shows the suspects Cherif, left, and Said Kouachi in the newspaper attack along with a plea for witnesses. Police hunted Thursday for two heavily armed men, one with possible links to al-Qaida, in the methodical killing of 12 people at a satirical newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammed. AP

WASHINGTON—The two brothers named by French authorities as chief suspects in the attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris were on the US no-fly list, a senior US counterterrorism official said Thursday.

Another US official said Said Kouachi, 34, has traveled to Yemen. It was unclear whether Kouachi, 34, was there to work with extremist groups like Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based there.

US officials were tight-lipped about what else they know about Kouachi and his brother Chérif, 32, including whether they fought in the Middle East with extremist groups.

Witnesses said the attackers claimed allegiance to al-Qaida in Yemen.

It would not be unusual for known extremists to be placed on the no-fly list, particularly since Chérif Kouachi had served 18 months in prison for recruiting militants to fight the US in Iraq.

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