WASHINGTON, January 10 (Sputnik) – This week's attack on the French Charlie Hebdo magazine by suspected radical Islamists in Paris was not an unexpected development and could happen in the United States, US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher says.
"While this horrendous crime is an outrage, it is also something that should have been expected and if we don't act it will happen again," Rohrabacher said Friday, describing the attack as "predictable".
Rohrabacher, chairman of the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, was joined by ranking member Bill Keating in condemning the Charlie Hebdo attack.
Keating said that the United States must accept the reality that these types of attacks, by lone wolves or foreign fighters, are increasing, which is why congressional committees have been so focused on this important issue.
On January 7, two gunmen opened fire in the office of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people and injuring another 11.
Cherif Kouachi, the younger brother, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2008 for participating in a network recruiting French Muslims to fight with al-Qaeda in Iraq.
On Thursday, US officials stated that the older brother, Said Kouachi, travelled to Yemen in 2011 and had direct contacts with al-Qaeda. Later in the day, the US State Department issued an updated Worldwide Caution release warning of an increased likelihood of terrorist attacks in Europe from al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.
