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French stand-off with al-Qaeda shooting suspect goes into 29th hour

Other News Materials 22 March 2012 11:13 (UTC +04:00)

Mohamed Merah, the al-Qaeda-linked suspect in a string of deadly shootings in France, was holed up in a Toulouse apartment building on Thursday, as his stand-off with police went into its 29th hour, DPA reported.

Merah had told negotiators that he would turn himself in by Wednesday afternoon but kept postponing that promise.

Police set off several explosions near the building overnight in a bid to intimidate him, after plunging the whole surrounding area in the dark by turning off streetlights.

Electricity, gas and water to the building have also been switched off to make Merah as uncomfortable as possible, the BFM broadcaster reported.

He now refuses to turn himself in, an unnamed source with knowledge of the investigation was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

"He appears to be since yesterday evening very closed off. He no longer wants to turn himself in. And he seems very determined," the source said.

The 23-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent is accused of gunning down four people at a Jewish school, including three children, and three French soldiers, in attacks that have rocked the country since March 11.

Prosecutors said Merah had confessed to the killings during negotiations and said he was motivated by a wish to "avenge Palestinian children" and protest France's overseas military operations.

Merah told police negotiators that he had agreed with al-Qaeda to carry out targeted killings in France, but refused orders to carry out a suicide attack, Interior Minister Claude Gueant told French television TF1 on Wednesday evening.

Gueant said Merah received the al-Qaeda orders during travels to Pakistan or Afghanistan.

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