Was Charlie Hebdo massacre Al Qaeda's bid to re-establish itself?

This suggests that AQAP feels eclipsed by ISIS, which has attracted so much coverage since last summer, and is determined to put itself back in the international spotlight with this act of mass murder, in broad daylight, in a major European capital.

There is a proven link between AQAP and the gunmen’s choice of target since AQAP’s online magazine ‘Inspire’ recently included the editor-in-chief of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in a list of ‘unbelievers’ deserving a bullet.

AQAP also has a track record of mounting attacks on western targets, and has its own Foreign Operations Unit to train terrorists who can convincingly pass themselves off in foreign contexts.