The shooting suspect holed up in a flat in southern France claimed to police besieging him he was trained by the al Qaeda militant network in Pakistan’s tribal Waziristan area, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
Francois Molins, France’s chief anti-terror magistrate, said Mohamed Merah had claimed responsibility for three recent shooting sprees that left three soldiers, three Jewish schoolchildren and a teacher dead. “Mohamed Merah explained that he belonged to al Qaeda. He explained he had been trained by al Qaeda in the Pakistani-Afghanistan region in Waziristan. He explained his trips abroad, including his time in Afghanistan,” Molins said.
“He said he does not have a suicidal spirit, he did not have a martyr’s soul, he preferred to kill and remain alive,” said Molins, who as Paris prosecutor has overall responsibility for anti-terror investigations in France.
“He claims responsibility for all three series of killings, explaining them by evoking the fate of the Palestinians, France’s external operations notably in Afghanistan and dispute over the ban on the full face veil in France.”