Could Paris Attack Boost Support for Islamic Extremists?

The militant chatter spread like wildfire. Within minutes of news breaking about the deadly terror attack on a Paris newspaper this week, supporters of extremist Islamic groups extolled the suspects in the massacre as “lions of the caliphate” and praised the killings on social media.

A fighter from the Islamic State group, armed with a knife and an automatic weapon, next to captured Syrian army soldiers and officers, following the battle for the Tabqa air base in Raqqa, Syria, on Aug. 27, 2014. The militant chatter spread like wildfire. Within minutes of news breaking about the deadly terror attack on a Paris newspaper, supporters of the Islamic State group extolled the suspects in the massacre as "lions of the caliphate" and praised the killings on social media. AP Photo/Raqqa Media Center of the Islamic State group

BEIRUT—The militant chatter spread like wildfire. Within minutes of news breaking about the deadly terror attack on a Paris newspaper this week, supporters of extremist Islamic groups extolled the suspects in the massacre as “lions of the caliphate” and praised the killings on social media.

Loyalists of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group alike described the assault on Charlie Hebdo’s offices that killed 12 people as revenge for the French satirical publication’s mockery of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and France’s military involvement in Muslim countries.

Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi became icons in the terror-sphere.

Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi became icons in the terror-sphere.