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| Gunman dead as French siege ends | ||||||||||
| 2012-03-22 | ||||||||||
| A police siege in the French city of Toulouse has ended with a man suspected of killing seven people now dead, the French interior minister has said. Police stormed the flat where Mohammed Merah was holed up at 09:30 GMT, after a siege that had lasted 32 hours. Merah fired at officers and was found dead after jumping from a window.
President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a televised address, said everything had been done to try to bring Merah to justice but it was decided that no more lives could be put at risk. He also vowed a new crackdown on those who visited "hate or terrorism" web sites or travelled abroad to be indoctrinated in terrorism. Interior Minister Claude Gueant said officers had thrown grenades and entered by the door and windows of the flat. After surveying the scene and finding no sign of the suspect, they proceeded to the bathroom, moving slowly as they were wary of booby-traps. When officers tried to find out if there was anyone in the bathroom, the suspect came out firing several weapons. Mr Gueant said the suspect was "shooting very violently. The bursts of gunfire were frequent and hard".
One police source told Agence France-Presse that Merah had been killed by police as he fled through the window.
Mr Gueant said: "A RAID [special police] officer who is used to this kind of thing told me that he had never seen such a violent assault."
In his TV address, Mr Sarkozy announced an investigation into whether Merah had accomplices and into possible Islamist indoctrination practices in prisons. He also said: "The French should not give rein to anger - our Muslim compatriots have nothing to do with the crazy actions of a terrorist. We should not embark on any stigmatisation."
Mr Gueant defended intelligence services for not preventing the attacks, describing Merah as a "lone wolf".
"There was his religious engagement, an increasing hatred against the values of a democratic society and a desire to impose what he believes is truth," Mr Etelin said. He also denied earlier reports that Merah had been jailed for explosives offensives in Afghanistan, saying his client was in jail in France for robbery with violence at the time - from December 2007 to September 2009.
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| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #14 The French + possible "sieges" of such Gunmen = Terrorists, may had only just begun .... To wit, * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > FRENCH ATTACK COULD INSPIRE NEXT/NEW GENERATION OF TERRORISTS: EXPERT. Similar Terror by "Lone Wolves" as poten waged throughout Europe. * SAME > TOULOUSE SHOOTING: 80 FRENCH NATIONALS "TRAINING WID PAKISTAN TALIBAN [TTP]", mostly in NW Pakland = North Waziristan but some in South Waziristan also??? ARTIC = also denotes... > PAK-BASED TTP MILITANTS = are CLOSELY WATCHING THE EVENTS IN FRANCE. > FIVE TERRORISTS [fully trained?] LEFT PAK BACK IN JANUARY 2012 - Final Destinations, Plans cannot be confirmed or denied by the TTP. * SAME > TOULOUSE GUNMAN SUSPECTED OF TRAINING IN PAKISTAN [ + Afghanistan]. * TOPIX > THE JIHAD IN EUROPE. NO more or not much of a UK Royal Navy anymore = CHARLES MARTEL + BATTLE OF TOURS II IN FRANCE??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-03-23 00:06 |
| #13 I've always been under the impression that it would be pretty frickin hard for a Moroccan to buy an AK-47, an Uzi, and acquire GRENADES in France. This guy was no lone wolf. That stuff is really hard to get in France. This guy was clearly al-Qaida affiliated, and took his time to prepare these attacks. The weaponry would've cost thousands of Euros, I'd imagine. Where did he get the money to fly to Pakistan and buy all these weapons? Lone wolf my beef. |
| Posted by: Kentucky Beef 2012-03-22 23:48 |
| #12 I can hear that AK from time to time. |
| Posted by: Kentucky Beef 2012-03-22 23:44 |
| #11 HMMMM, HMMMMM, as of the EOD yestiddy Merah was only repor "arrested" by the French Gendarmes, now this AM he's repor dead by self-suicide??? * "Jumped from window, continuing to fire" - a fan of Bruce Willis + original "DIE HARD", is He??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-03-22 22:33 |
| #10 The self-confessed al-Qaeda militant was suspected.... Isn't about time "self-radicalization" is rejected as a narrative myth to soothe muzi sensibilities? |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2012-03-22 22:00 |
| #9 Sarkozy seemed to be placating muslims with his comments. |
| Posted by: gorb 2012-03-22 20:15 |
| #8 Merah claimed to have received al-Qaeda training in Pakistan's Waziristan area, and also said he had been to Afghanistan. Common theme re Waziristan but still the Pak army do nothing. |
| Posted by: Spats Slath4746 2012-03-22 18:47 |
| #7 |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2012-03-22 12:43 |
| #6 Islam certainly seems to attract those with violent tendencies, doesn't it. Gives them the excuse they need to express what they can't seem to control. |
| Posted by: gorb 2012-03-22 11:30 |
| #5 Oh, 'jumped' did he? ⢠Video surveillance equipment was sent into the flat and when it approached the bathroom Merah jumped out âall guns blazingâ armed with a sub machine gun. ⢠After a fierce fire fight lasting around four minutes Merah jumped through the window of his apartment and over the balcony. As he did so he was shot in the head and died from his wounds. France24 |
| Posted by: Willy 2012-03-22 11:08 |
| #4 He committed suicide while running away from Infidels. He murdered children. Nevertheless, he will be a hero in the Arab world. Do a poll in the Arab world, who is the bigger hero, Mohammad Merah or Mohamed Bouazizi. Lets see who would win. That face shot from the Drudge Report will be the new Che picture for Islamists. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2012-03-22 10:42 |
| #3 he was armed with a mini-Uzi 9mm machine pistol Doesn't handling that Jewish weapon contaminate him? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-03-22 10:35 |
| #2 So perish all right wing extremists! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-03-22 10:19 |
| #1 Good riddance. The world is now a slightly better place. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2012-03-22 10:06 |