French police question Merah alliance with al-Qaeda
Investigators in France have said a suggestion by gunman Mohamed Merah that he was linked to al-Qaeda may have been false.
They have found no sign that the gunman was under the umbrella of al-Qaeda or any other militant terror group.
In disputing Mohamed Merah's claim of terrorist ties police have had to fend off questions as to why they were not tracking Merah, who they had been aware of for many years due to his perceived dedication to radical Islam.
Police said there was no sign he had been in contact with organized groups or "jihadists."
Merah carried out three deadly shooting attacks this month before he also died in a shootout with commandos.
Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian descent, involved police in a 32-hour standoff at his Toulouse apartment on Thursday after murdering three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three French paratrooper.
Another Jewish student and a paratrooper were wounded.
On the weekend, investigators questioned Merah's 29-year-old brother, Abdelkader, who is also known to be an ultraconservative Islamist.
Abdelkader reportedly told police after the attacks he was "proud" of his brother.
Before the shootings, Abdelkader Merah had already been accused of being an alleged facilitator for sending militant fighters to Iraq.
He was never charged.
Last week, an Qaeda-linked group, Jund al-Khilafah, claimed responsibility on jihadist websites for the killings attributed to Merah.
Source: Latin America News.Net
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