Terror Attack in Paris Ends—But What Happens Next?
The hostage situation in Paris is finally over. The armed gunman who took at least 10 people hostage at a kosher supermarket in a Jewish neighborhood in Paris today is dead according to cbs News. afp reported three hostages killed, five injured and five freed unharmed after police confronted and killed the terrorist. The terrorist was identified as Amedy Coulibaly. Reports link him to the two Muslims suspected in Wednesday’s terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo.
The two suspects in Wednesday’s attack were identified as Said and Cherif Kouachi. The brothers took a hostage earlier today at a printing plant in Dammartin-en-Goële, outside of Paris. Reports indicate that police killed both brothers in a successful attempt to free the hostage Friday evening.
One of the Kouachi brothers was convicted of terrorism charges in 2008. The other had visited Yemen. Both were on the American no-fly list.
Police believe Coulibaly was connected to the Kouachi brothers. He threatened to kill his hostages if the Kouachi brothers were attacked. Police also believe Coulibaly was responsible for killing a female police officer in a suburb of Paris on Thursday.
Politicians are already using the Paris massacre to advance their agendas. This latest attack will only add fuel to the fire.
Popular French right-wing leader Marine Le Pen called for a January 9 debate on Islamic fundamentalism in France. After a meeting with the French president, Le Pen said the nation’s foreign policy needs to change. She wants France to sever ties with countries that, in her words, “support and finance Islamic fundamentalism.” Le Pen is using Wednesday’s terrorist attack to build support for her anti-immigration policies, with the goal of being elected president in 2017.
The murders have also given anti-Islamic protesters new energy in Germany. Anti-Islamic sentiment hasn’t translated into a political movement in Germany, but pegida’s weekly protests continue to grow. (pegida stands for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.) About 18,000 people showed up at the pegida rally on January 5. The group is calling for another big turnout on January 12 for a silent march to commemorate the Paris victims. pegida’s first demonstrations back in October drew only a few hundred people.
The situation in both these nations is starting to look like a tinderbox ready to explode.
Watch to see how these two nations deal with this threat. The Trumpet believes Germany will harden its stance toward Islamic radicals as Islamic terrorists continue to violently push their agenda. For more on this trend, read our article “Catholic Europe vs. Islamic Hordes: Round 2.”
