The claim by Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) that it directed the Jan. 7 attack on the office of satire magazine Charlie Hebdo marks the first time al-Qaeda or its affiliates have successfully carried out an attack against a Western target since the London bombings in 2005. “The Islamic caliphate of ISIS has gained tremendous global prominence because of the brutality and ruthlessness, and al-Qaeda itself is now competing internationally for Muslim support. It is a rival of the Islamic caliphate,” Prof Rohan Gunaratna, head of Singapore’s RSIS’ International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, told Bloomberg in September.