Investigators in charge of the chopper attack Friday, September 25 in Paris in front of the former premises of
Charlie Hebdo are
wondering about the real identity of the main suspect, who has so far presented himself as an 18-year-old Pakistani.
Read also: Attack on Paris: the itinerary of an ordinary Islamist
Research into the mobile phone of the man who calls himself Hassan A. has enabled investigators to discover a photo of an identity document, according to which the latter is actually called Zaheer Hassan Mehmood and is 25 years old, these sources told AFP, confirming information from
Le Monde
.
As we write in our editions of September 28, it is under this identity that this man presented himself in a video of claim recorded before the attack and authenticated by the investigators.
The chopper attack left two seriously injured employees of a TV news agency.
In this two-minute document, which circulated during the weekend on social networks, the assailant who presents himself as Zaheer Hassan Mehmood claims his future gesture, without pledging allegiance to any organization, and explains it by "
the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that were made
”.
"
Today, Friday September 25, I will condemn them
", he adds, claiming to have for "
guide
" Mullah Ilyas Qadri, leader of Dawat-e-Islami, an apolitical and non-violent religious group Sufi-inspired, based in Pakistan.
The custody of the assailant, who accepted his act and admitted having wanted to attack
Charlie Hebdo
, unaware that the editorial staff had moved to a secret place since the 2015 attacks, was extended by 48 hours on Sunday.
Five other police custody are still in progress on Monday: three former roommates of the main suspect in his apartment in Pantin, his little brother and an acquaintance.
