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| Europe |
| France: Toulouse Gunman's Sister May Be Fighting In Syria |
| 2014-05-25 |
| [IsraelTimes] Souad Merah and her 4 children left La Belle France, authorities say; she is said to have blessed her brother before his March 2012 shooting The sister of Al-Qaeda inspired gunman Mohammed Merah who killed seven people in and around Toulouse ...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France... two years ago, has left La Belle France and could be fighting in Syria, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Friday. French authorities lost track of 35-year-old Souad Merah in March when a school at which one of her children was studying alerted them that the pupil had failed to turn up for several days. "There is a strong suspicion that she is in Syria," Cazeneuve told Europe1 radio. Souad Merah, who has four children aged between nine months and 14 years, left Toulouse at the start of May for Barcelona in Spain, according to French sources investigating the case. She was accompanied by her children. Cazeneuve said she took a flight for Istanbul from Barcelona on May 9 and took another plane the same day for the Turkish city of Gaziantep, which is near the Syrian border. Souad Merah had been taken into custody in April on suspicion that she blessed her brother Mohammed, 23, ahead of the killing spree in which he rubbed out three French soldiers and four Jews -- three children and a rabbi -- in March 2012. Mohammed Merah died after being shot by police following a prolonged stand-off at the apartment block where he lived. Since then it has emerged that he had visited Pakistain and Afghanistan prior to his attacks and had been on the radar of French intelligence, who had gravely under-estimated the threat he posed. Cazeneuve said earlier this month that 285 French citizens were currently fighting in Syria, despite a slew of measures to prevent people from travelling to the war-torn country. There have been mounting concerns in La Belle France over the number of young jihadists heading to fight in Syria, with authorities fearing they could pose a major security threat if they return home as battle-hardened veteratns. The French government unveiled an anti-terrorism plan in April to prevent the radicalization of nationals, thwart online recruitment and make it more difficult for aspiring jihadists to leave the country for Syria. Merah, 23 when he committed the murders, said in filmed recordings that his crimes were part of Jihad -- a holy war. He died in a shootout with police at his apartment two days after he shot three children and a rabbi at the Ohr Hatorah Jewish school in Toulouse. In December 2013, police interrogated Souad Merah in Gay Paree after she was filmed saying she was proud of her younger brother Mohammed "for how he fought till the end." Filmed without her knowledge, she added: "The Jews are all about massacring the Moslems. I detest them. I think well of bin Laden. I told that to the cops. I am proud of my brother, proud, proud, proud." She later issued a statement saying she condemned his actions. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #5 Second the motion, no return. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2014-05-25 12:49 |
| #4 Cazeneuve said earlier this month that 285 French citizens were currently fighting in Syria, despite a slew of measures to prevent people from travelling to the war-torn country. 1) Cancel their passports 2) Prevent them from COMING BACK 3) take a long hard look at their family, friends, and mosques they attended |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-05-25 11:31 |
| #3 Lets hope she's captured by Alawite forces. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-05-25 08:58 |
| #2 So the next time you hear about the needs of the refugees in the fighting in Syria, remember some of them could leave if they wanted to. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2014-05-25 08:53 |
| #1 Islam is a genetic disease? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2014-05-25 01:46 |