A lethal al Qaeda affiliate gave one of the Charlie Hebdo shooters $20,000 for terrorist operations three years ago, but the U.S. has not found evidence the group directed last week’s massacre in Paris, two counter-terrorism officials told ABC News today.

Al Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate AQAP said overnight it’s leadership "chose the target, laid the plan and financed the operation” and called the shooters, brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, “heroes.”

The officials said signals intercept records so far have not uncovered any communications between the brothers and known AQAP figures in recent months, indicating that while brothers may have been initially funded by the terror group, they could have carried out the operation without immediate, direct support from AQAP-proper.

“This could change, but so far we haven’t found evidence AQAP was talking to the brothers recently,” one of the officials said.