Charlie Hebdo published a front page showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad holding a sign saying "Je suis Charlie" in its first edition since Islamic terrorists attacked the Paris offices of the satirical newspaper last week. With demand surging for the new edition, the weekly planned to print up to 3 million copies, dwarfing its usual run of 60,000, after newsagents reported a rush of orders. Digital versions were to be posted in English, Spanish and Arabic, while print editions in Italian and Turkish were also to appear. The new edition was sold out within minutes at locations across France when it went on sale on Wednesday morning and there were reports more copies would be printed. France has drafted in thousands of extra police and soldiers to provide security after 17 people were killed in three days of violence that began when two Islamist gunmen burst into Charlie Hebdo's offices, opening fire in revenge for the paper's publication of satirical images of Muhammad in the past. "As for the blessed Battle of Paris, we, the Organization of al-Qaida al Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the Messenger of God," said Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi of the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida in the recording.
On Wednesday, al-Qaida in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack at the Charlie Hebdo offices, saying it was for insulting the Prophet Muhammad, according to a video posted on YouTube.
After his speech, lawmakers broke into a spontaneous rendition of La Marseillaise, a first since the end of World War I.
The front page of Charlie Hebdo's Jan. 14 edition shows a tearful Muhammad with a sign "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie") below the headline: "Tout est pardonne" ("All is forgiven").
"I wrote 'all is forgiven' and I cried," Renald Luzier, who drew the image, told journalists at the weekly's temporary office at the headquarters of the left-wing daily Liberation.
"This is our front page. ... It's not the one the terrorists wanted us to draw," he said. "I'm not worried at all. ... I trust people's intelligence, the intelligence of humor."
The new edition of Charlie Hebdo, known for its satirical attacks on Islam and other religions, includes other cartoons featuring Muhammad and also making fun of politicians and other religions, its lawyer said.
"We will not back down, otherwise none of this has any meaning," Richard Malka told French radio. "If you hold the banner 'I am Charlie,' that means you have the right to blaspheme, you have the right to criticize my religion."
There was no official reaction from the French government on the new edition.
At a regular news briefing, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said: "We absolutely support the right of Charlie Hebdo to publish things like this. Again, that's what happens in a democracy. Period."
Egypt's grand mufti warned Charlie Hebdo against publishing a new Muhammad caricature, saying it was a racist act that would incite hatred and upset Muslims around the world.
One Paris newspaper vendor said he had received 200 advance orders for Charlie Hebdo and was stopping there as he could no longer cope.
French Muslim leaders urged their community to keep calm and respect the right to freedom of expression.
"What is uncomfortable for us is the representation of the prophet," Abdelbaki Attaf told Reuters at the funeral in the northern Paris suburb of Bobigny of Ahmed Merabet, the Muslim policeman shot trying to defend the Hebdo cartoonists.
"Any responsible Muslim will find it hard to accept that. But we shouldn't ban it," said Attaf, an administrator at the mosque in nearby Gennevilliers occasionally visited by Cherif Kouachi, one of the Hebdo killers.
On Sunday, at least 3.7 million people throughout France marched in support for Charlie Hebdo and freedom of expression. World leaders linked arms to lead more than 1 million people through Paris in an unprecedented homage to the victims.
Three days of violence ended on Friday with a siege at a kosher supermarket in Paris where four Jews were killed by an Islamic terrorist. The terrorist was killed when police stormed the supermarket. Shortly before that, police killed the Hebdo attackers in a gun battle at a print works northwest of the city.
In the wake of the violence, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said 10,000 troops were being deployed at sensitive sites including synagogues, mosques and airports.
French President Francois Hollande's government has avoided referring to the Maghreb and African roots of the three killers. It has also sought to discredit their claim to be acting in the name of Islam, calling them "fanatics."
Le Drian said the government would need to review some of its military capabilities following the attacks and raised the prospect of reconsidering the severely strained military budget when its long-term spending plan comes up for review later this year in the French parliament.
On Tuesday, the parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve France's continued participation in air raids in Iraq against the Islamic State group. One of last week's killers cited France's military strikes against Muslims as a motivation for his acts.
"Islamic State is a terrorist army with fighters from everywhere," Le Drian told Europe 1 radio. "It is an international army that has to be wiped out and that is why we are part of the coalition."
Meanwhile, a new video emerged on Tuesday showing the two gunmen who murdered 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo offices engaging in a shootout with police.
Credit: Reuters
The amateur video, shot from a rooftop near the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, shows the two hooded and black clad gunmen shortly after they carried out the attack on January 7.
One of the men -- later named as brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi -- shouted "We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad!" and "al-Qaida Yemen" before they both reloaded their automatic weapons and started to drive their black Citroen getaway car down a narrow street.
But their path was blocked by a police car which arrived with blue lights flashing and both men got out of the Citroen and fired at the police vehicle, which rapidly reversed away from the scene before halting about 200 metres away.
After seeming to hesitate, the black Citroen then bears down on the police car with one of the men apparently hanging out of the passenger's window while firing at the police.
The police car remained motionless as the attackers' car drew alongside before turning left and vanishing from sight.
It is thought the police car was struck by several bullets but the officers inside were unhurt.
The Kouachis did kill another policeman -- Ahmed Merabet -- as he lay on the ground after being wounded, seen in another video which was posted to a social media website on the day of the attack.
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