French authorities say links have emerged between two brothers suspected of the Charlie Hebdo shootings and a man believed to have killed a policewoman in Paris a day later. br br Police have confirmed all three men were members of the same Islamist unit in northern Paris.br br Cherif Kouachibr br Shortly before dying in a shootout with armed forces, a man claiming to be suspect Cherif Kouachi, 32, told French news channel BFMTV that the operation carried out at the satirical magazine had been funded by al Qaeda.br br “I was sent. Me, Cherif Kouachi, by al Qaeda of Yemen”, the voice claimed. “I went over there and it was Anwar al Awlaki who financed me.”br br Al Awlaki was killed in a drone strike in September 2011. Prior to his death, he had been an influential preacher and international recruiter for al Qaeda.