Jan. 12--REPORTING FROM PARIS -- French authorities plan to deploy more than 10,000 soldiers to beef up security in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks, authorities said Monday.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told French media that "the threat is still present" and that last week's attackers probably had accomplices. Who those accomplices may be remained unclear.
The nation will mobilize the troops in "sensitive areas" by Tuesday, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
The announcement came just one day after more than 50 world leaders and a crowd exceeding 1 million marched through Paris in a massive unity march against terrorism.
The United States was represented by its ambassador to France, Jane Hartley, prompting some criticism over its failure to send a higher-ranking official. In an apparent effort to quell the complaints, Secretary of State John Kerry said he would travel to Paris on Thursday to meet with French officials.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Kerry brushed off the criticism and stressed that the United States has been in close contact with French officials since last week's assaults on a satirical publication and a kosher market.
"We have offered from the first moment our intel, our law enforcement and all of our efforts," Kerry said at a televised news conference during a visit to India. "And I really think this is sort of quibbling a bit."
He said that he made plans to visit France "as soon as I heard about the plans for the march" and that Thursday was the earliest his schedule would permit.
Media in France referred to the announcement of troop deployments as unprecedented in the country's recent history. The nation's leadership seems determined to project a strong image in the aftermath of last week's stunning attacks.
Also Monday, the Interior Ministry said hundreds of additional police officers would be assigned to safeguard Jewish schools, which already have police protection.
Last week's strikes by Islamic extremists raised deep fears among France's Jewish population, the largest in Europe.
Among the targets was the kosher grocery store in eastern Paris. Authorities said the gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, 32 -- a street criminal turned Islamist extremist -- killed four of more than a dozen hostages taken at the market. He was also responsible for shooting a policewoman dead last week and is linked to the shooting of a jogger who was critically injured, authorizes say.
Coulibaly was killed Friday when police stormed the grocery store, freeing most of the hostages.
Also on Friday, a police assault outside Paris resulted in the deaths of a pair of brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi, who carried out the attacks that left 12 dead at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine targeted because it mocked Islam. Before his death, Coulibaly said he was working in tandem with the Kouachi brothers, one of whom was a longtime acquaintance of his.
French authorities have thus far named one potential accomplice in last week's attacks. She is Hayat Boumeddiene, 26, a former store cashier from a Paris suburb who was Coulibaly's girlfriend. Her whereabouts have been a matter of intense speculation. On Monday, Turkish authorities confirmed that Boumeddiene entered Turkey on Jan. 2 and had likely traveled onward to Syria. That would mean she was not in France when last week's attacks occurred.
Turkey has long been criticized for allowing thousands of European and other militants to pass through its territory en route to hooking up with radical jihadists fighting inside war-ravaged Syria, which shares a more than 500-mile border with Turkey. Turkish officials said they had no reason to be suspicious of Boumeddiene when she entered the country, according to Turkish press reports.
Islamic militants have sent Twitter messages indicating that Boumeddiene has entered Islamic State-controlled territory, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist social media.
In postings, SITE reported, militants have said that Boumeddiene had reached the "land of the Caliphate," referring to Islamic State-controlled territory in parts of Syria and Iraq. The militants voiced the hope that God "puts a cover over the eyes" of those seeking to find her.
French authorities have described Boumeddiene as armed and dangerous and have said she may have had a role in last week's bloody attacks -- even though she now appears to have been outside of France at the time. She has been described as "France's most wanted woman."
In an Internet video that emerged over the weekend, Coulibaly swore allegiance to Islamic State. It is not clear whether his declaration was made on his own or in coordination with the group.
McDonnell reported from Paris and Lee from Los Angeles. Paul Richter in Washington contributed to this report.
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UPDATES
9:16 a.m.: This post has been updated with reports that Boumeddiene may have reached territory held by Islamic State and with an additional quote from Kerry about his planned visit to France.
The original version of this post was published at 8:09 a.m.
