French police burst into the apartment of a suspected al Qaeda-trained militant accused of killing seven people, prompting a shootout that ended with Mohammed Merah, gun in hand, jumping out a window to his death, authorities said Thursday. Two police officers were injured in the raid, which came after a siege of the apartment lasting more than 31 hours, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said.
Merah, 23, was wanted in the killings of three French paratroopers and of three students and a rabbi at a Jewish school in Toulouse, in a string of shootings that began on March 11.
He originally said he would surrender to police, Gueant said, but later vowed that he would resist and kill anyone who tried to take him into custody.
He emerged from a bathroom and launched a barrage of gunfire at police as they burst in Thursday morning, Gueant said, before jumping from the window, still shooting.
Gueant said earlier police wanted to capture him alive, saying the priority was “to hand him over to the authorities.”
Merah had said he wanted to “die with weapons in his hands,” Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said overnight.
Police had been surrounding his house since 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, having tracked him down through computer sleuthing and clues linked to his motorcycle, authorities said.
As police first attempted to seize him early Wednesday morning, Merah shot and wounded two officers, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said.
Merah had told French police that he trained with al Qaeda in Pakistan’s Waziristan region, bordering Afghanistan, and that he had planned to attack more soldiers and police Wednesday, Molins said. He said he was acting alone, the prosecutor added.
Ebba Kalondo, the senior news editor of the television network France 24, told CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” that the suspect had called her about two hours before police surrounded his home and laid out details of the killings that only police would have known — “very, very specific information” such as the number of shots fired and the shell casings left behind.
“He seemed to be very aware that a massive manhunt was under way for him,” Kalondo said. “He said he wasn’t scared, and that neither capture nor death scared him at all.”
On Wednesday, during the siege, French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke at a memorial service for the three paratroopers, calling their killing “a terrorist execution.”
One of the victims was due to become a father soon, but “a killer without scruples decided that he would never meet the child to be born,” Sarkozy said.
Earlier Wednesday, Sarkozy called on his nation “to unite together to show that terrorism will not be able to fracture our national community.”
Sarkozy’s office said U.S. President Barack Obama had called his French counterpart to offer his condolences and praise the efforts of French police. France and the United States are more determined than ever to fight together against terrorist brutality, Sarkozy’s office said.
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
13 Responses
The full CNN article as well as many others states this rasha’s motive: “to avenge Palestinian children.”
The French and the media gave him just what he wanted: a martyr’s death and free publicity for justifying his crimes. Disgusting.
Stupid Frenches it took them 2 days!
the IDF would have needed 2 hours
I think its much better this way. There is no death penalty in France, so after a long joke of a trial he would’ve been sentenced to life in prison. Now he gets to start hell earlier.
That was pretty foolish of them. Had they just held out for another day he would have to fall asleep while they can change shifts.
All they had to do was surround the place and wait. After a few days he would have come out. Eventually people run out of food. They had no patience. He had no hostages. What was the rush?
Definitely MUCH better this way.
If they took him alive it would have shlepped out for years giving him a trial and it would have given him a forum to speak out all his demented ‘politics’.
This way – he’s already BURNING in gehenom!
You notice how he gets Moslem & anti semetic support by justifying his murdering innocent yeshiva children because of Israel killing Palestinians .
Very smart move by Jew haters
But How does he justify killing 3 French soldiers.??
No tear gas in France? No matter what they say; they wanted him dead.
There is a 17 year old young man who tried to save the life of the little girl on the playground. He is in serious condition in the hospital. I have not seen a story on him or a request of tehillim. There is a face book page for him but it is in french. He is still alive, let’s pray for him. someone needs to get the info and write a story and inform everyone. Our prayers do help
Here is the young man’s name:
Soutenez Bryan Bijaoui (17 ans) grièvement blessé à Toulouse who tried to save the girl’s life. anyone get more info??
Here is the translation of the facebook page.
Aaron ben Sarah Touil – made of prayers for him…
Bryan is 17 years old and he received a bullet to fragmentation in the drama of Toulouse.
It is still in the hospital and his State deserves that it monopolizes yet all of our prayers.
He was placed in artificial coma to reduce pain following operations.It is therefore still under assistance r… espiratoire, but his condition is stable.
This group is so family and close friends of Bryan can give us more often news but also so that everyone can write a few words of support that we are happy to report.
Bryan we do not forget you, your family, your friends, the Dejj, the community and the France is behind you. Debates you, we are proud of you.
Prayers to his name in Hebrew is Aaron ben Sarah Touil.
Thanks to those who can read and téhilim (Psalms) for his healing.
I call this operation “French Fries”
I dont want to see his ugly face.
Why is YWN publishing this absolute tsoah! I dont want to see it. Get your act together YWN, you are sunk if not sinking.
YOu are not fulfiling the mandate of a “kosher” media outlet, if you are so pathetic as to casually attach a picture this disgusting to an article!