French Jewish School Shooter Moslum linked to al qaida

From MEMRI: “On March 19, 2012, a terrorist opened fire on the Jewish school Ozar Hatorah in Toulouse, France. As of this writing, the suspected gunman, 24-year-old Muhammad Merah, is holed up in a nearby apartment building, with French poli…ce still attempting to negotiate his surrender.

Merah, a French-Algerian who spent time training in jihad camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, told the French authorities that the shooting was to avenge the deaths of Palestinian children. He also claimed responsibility for the March 15 murder of three French soldiers, which he said was due their role in the Afghanistan war.

Merah claims to belong to Al-Qaeda, and, indeed, appears to be a member of the French Al-Qaeda branch Fursan Al-‘Izza (“The Knights of Glory,” spelled in French, “Forsane Alizza”).” For more: http://www.memri.org/

Caught French terrorist reveals motivation for murders

By Clare Byrne and Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl

Emergency services vehicles blocked a street during a raid on a house to arrest a suspect in the killings of three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in ToulouseJewishWorldReview.com |

OULOUSE, France— dpa (MCT) French police on Wednesday were in a stand-off with a suspect in the killings of seven people during a shooting spree in the southwestern part of the country, including three children at a Jewish school.

The 24-year-old, who claims links to the Qaida terrorist network, told police negotiators that he acted to “avenge Palestinian children” and has also mentioned France’s overseas military missions, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said at the scene in Toulouse.

Special police forces launched a raid on a house in a quiet, leafy residential neighborhood there shortly after 3 a.m. The man immediately started shooting through the door, Gueant said.

At least two policemen were injured.

The suspect has since been “talking a lot” to police negotiators, in part through the door of the house, notably about his “commitment to al-Qaida,” Gueant said. But several more volleys of gunfire have also been heard.

The French national, who comes from Toulouse, was already known to the country’s intelligence services because of time he spent in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Gueant said.

He was under suspicion early on in the investigation into the killings of three French soldiers in Toulouse and the nearby city of Montauban on March 11 and March 15, according to the minister.

A subsequent attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse left a religion teacher and three children dead Monday.

The suspect’s brother has also been detained, Gueant said.