PARIS

 Four out of 12 suspects have been sent to court in connection with the recent attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Tuesday.

Twelve people were detained last Friday for questioning in relation to the attacks which killed 17 people. 

The four suspects, aged from 22 to 28, are thought to have connections with the Kouachi brothers -- perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo attack -- as well as Amedy Coulibaly, who killed a police officer and four other people in a separate hostage incident.

Twelve people were killed when Said and Cherif Kouachi attacked the Paris headquarters of the satirical magazine on Jan. 7.

The weekly was known for printing controversial material, including cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in 2006 and 2012.

The magazine reprinted cartoons of Islam’s revered prophet in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

Police killed the Kouachi brothers at a warehouse in Dammartin-en-Goele, a small town north of Paris, two days after the attack on the magazine; the same day Coulibaly, who had connections with the two brothers, killed four hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris before being shot dead by police.