"This feels much more like attacks staged in the past by other al Qaeda affiliates, rather than another attempt to exchange hostages for ransom, as has often been AQIM's practice, " said Andrew Lebovich, a long-time observer of AQIM currently in Senegal.
Mayor Andrew Hardwick of Freeport on Long Island's South Shore, which experienced major flooding, joined other officials in chastising stubborn residents for needlessly endangering lives of rescue workers.