E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
France 2 via Reuters
France's prime minister has rejected accusations that intelligence lapses allowed Mohamed Merah, a man with a violent criminal record who had been spotted twice in Afghanistan, to become the first al-Qaida-inspired killer to strike on its soil.
PARIS -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy's spy chief says a gunman who killed three young children and a rabbi at a Jewish school only attacked the school after missing his original target -- a French soldier.
Ange Mancini, Sarkozy's intelligence adviser, said on French TV that Mohamed Merah had wanted to kill a soldier he had targeted Monday in Toulouse, but arrived too late and instead besieged a nearby Jewish school.
Mancini told France-24 TV on Friday that "it wasn't the school that he wanted to attack," calling the school shooting "opportunistic."
Police: Suspect in French spree hit by 20 bullets
Merah, a 23-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent, was killed Thursday in a shootout after police raided the Toulouse apartment
where he had been holed up for 32 hours in a standoff with authorities.
Also on Friday, the country's s prime minister rejected accusations that intelligence lapses allowed Merah, a man with a violent criminal record who had been spotted twice in Afghanistan, to become the first al-Qaida-inspired killer to strike on its soil.
Graphic video may help answer whether gunman worked alone
Merah shot dead three Jewish children and four adults in three separate attacks despite having been under surveillance by the DCRI domestic intelligence agency, which questioned him as recently as November.
Hardened by battling Islamic militants from its former North African colony of Algeria, the French security services have long been regarded as among the most effective in Europe, having prevented militant attacks on French soil for the last 15 years.
Negligence?
Opposition politicians, including far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, suggested that negligence or errors had permitted Merah to carry out three deadly shootings within 10 days before he was identified, located and killed.
But Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the police and intelligence agencies had done an exemplary job.
"Resolving a criminal case of this importance in 10 days, I believe that's practically unprecedented in the history of our country," Fillon told RTL radio.
French presidential race irrevocably altered by Toulouse killings
Merah amassed a cache of at least eight guns under the noses of French intelligence, including several Colt .45 pistols of the kind he used in the shootings, but also at least one Uzi submachine gun, a Sten gun and a pump action shotgun.
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe had appeared to acknowledge on Thursday that there were grounds to question possible security flaws, saying: "We need to bring some clarity to this."
"Since the DCRI was following Mohamed Merah for a year, how come they took so long to locate him?" Socialist party security spokesman Francois Rebsamen asked on the JDD.fr website.
Merah's elder brother Abdelkader, 29, who is now under police questioning, was also on a security watch list after being linked with the smuggling of Jihadist militants into Iraq in 2007, government officials said.
The left-leaning daily Liberation asked in an editorial whether the intelligence services had not "failed miserably."
Email trail led cops to suspect in Jewish school slayings
"How could they have so underestimated the potential danger of an individual they already knew?"
In Washington, two U.S. officials said Merah was on a U.S. government "no fly" list, barring him from boarding any U.S.-bound aircraft. The officials said that his name had been on the list for some time.
Silence across France honors victims of attack on Jewish school
The officials said the entry included sufficient biometric detail to make clear the man on the blacklist was the same person involved in the Toulouse shootings. He was put on the list because U.S. officials deemed him a potential threat to aviation, one of the officials said.
Rebsamen said that after the shooting of two paratroopers in Montauban, near Toulouse, on March 15, Merah's name was on top of a DCRI list of 20 people to be particularly closely watched in the southwestern Mid-Pyrenees region. Yet the agency appeared to have lost his trace.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Landmark case: Nigerian villagers sue Shell over oil spills
- Not Chinese enough in China? Americans' dilemma
- Democracy icon his the campaign trail in Myanmar
- Graphic video may answer whether French gunman acted alone
- Top commander: US can win in Afghanistan, needs 'combat power' in 2013
- Auditor: Indian government may have lost $210 billion in 'mother of all scams'
- Bin Laden widow's wound worsening, brother says
- PTSD: Having the courage to ask for help
Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
Leave a Comment:
The intelligence services did an exemplary job per French Prime Minister Fillon!!! His brain must be made of vichy-soisse!!
Sounds like France behaves in a similar fashion to the U.S. in response to tragedy: blame guns, blame law enforcement, blame the other political party, etc.
What a stupid idea to report.Like saying after Hitler killed 6 million Jews,he decided to kill some millions more of gypsies,the disabled, and other undesirables just "as an after thought".This monster was a beserk pyscho.mass murdering killing machine .All his thoughts before ,during and "after" were about killing.killing killing! A real beast. just like Adoplh and his gang of perverts!!
I thought the gunman stated he killed for revenge of the killing of Palestinian children. Did I dream that? Another example of the Bibles "forgiveness" vs the Koran's "Vengeance" and the Korans promise of paradise for killing infidels vs the Bibles promise of heaven to those that are good.
That must have been a convenient justification (in his mind) for the killings, that he came up with after the fact.
FfBrgtrna, neither book is anything more than a long bedtime story for the feeble minded. However, both do motivate the feeble to act horribly towards anyone that does not believe the bedtime story they believe. The closest christianity comes to "forgiveness" is when the priests forgive one another for diddling little boys and girls.
mwilliams - Just because you believe in nothing, it does not justify such gross disrespect. You obviously know nothing of any faith, so spare us your wasted claims.
right on dude, now I can call you ignorant too. First of all, I made no claims, just gave my opinion. Secondly, I believe in a lot of things...including a God, thus I have faith. I just don't believe in fairy tales or telling others that their God is less real than mine.
mwilliams
I think the difference between the Bible (Old and New Testament) and Koran is that the Bible has a lot of stories told over a long period of time . While some of the people did bad things, forgiveness was everywhere.
In the Koran, Allah INSTRUCTS people to kill infidels, steal, terrorize, deceive all in the name of Allah.
In the Bible, anyone can go to heaven, if they repent, if they do deeds, etc.
In the Koran, heaven and paradise are guaranteed if one KILLS INFIDELS.
Personally, I don't believe everything in the Bible, but it is the examples it makes and the lessons it teaches.
The Koran teaches Islamic people to be terrorists and not only condones these actions, it justifies and rewards them.
Its not a matter of feeble mindedness or bed time stories, its the message.
And the main Prophet, Mohamed, whose adventures are documented in the Hadith, can be described as a terrorist, liar, pedophile, murderer, etc. And there specific examples of all of these in the Hadith
Lar - cite the relevant passages in the Koran. Can you? I assume you have a basis for your statements.
Muhammad said: "I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim." - Sahih Muslim 19.4366
Louie Read it and you will see. Here is another example
And Allah said to the Angels 'I am with you, go and strengthen the faithful for I shall fill the hearts of the infidels with terror So smite them on their necks and every joint and incapacitate them For they opposed Allah and His Apostle The punishment for the infidels is to taste the torment of Hell. Surah 8.
Kannin
What verse in the koran was that?
Intelligence advisor is not a spychief-so Ange Mancini's explanation of Mohamed Merah's execution style killing of innocent French-Israeli children and a rabbi is only an aftertought- didn't this same sociopath spew to the French police he is avenging Gaza deaths? Or did the French authorities make it up as the siege continued? Merah lived at 17 Rue de Sergent,Toulouse in the same neighbourhood as the Hbrew School. It behooves the French authorities to release the videotapes taken by Merah's Go Pro video camera actually showing the cold-blooded execution style killings of innocents to rebut the claim -that Merah missed a French soldier- if that were the case -what have innocent Hebrews to do with the Evian Accords 50 years ago to end the Algerian War?
How could this be after all isn't Islam the religeon of love and tolerance? Less PC more reality.
That's right Edward. Islam is the religion of peace, love and tolerance as we are frequently reminded in the world news. We infidels just keep overreacting to the ill-advised actions of a few misguided individuals whose unfortunate actions in no way reflect the beliefs of the overwhelming majority of Muslims. After all... Listen to the outcry of revulsion from the Muslim community about these killings in Toulouse. What's that? There's been no outcry? Not even a little? Must be a zionist conspiracy to control the media and suppress such reports.
Of course there is no out cry. They are preoccupied with the inadvertent burning of some Korans for which our POTUS apologized profusely. I heard one Islamist say "How dare you burn our book of peace. For that you Americans will die" Gotta love that book of peace.
Sarkozy must be taking lessons from the state prosecutors in Italy. He has already made up a fantasy version of how things went down, but the guy is dead, so he can't refute the story. If the French had been aware of this guy and his intended actions, as they claim they were, why was he not already in custody before the FIRST shooting?
Hey... It's the French for God's sake. At least they didn't surrender to him. That's generally their response when being attacked.
It is so ugly and not the tiniest bit funny to make sweeping statements about France. I bet you have never even been there and have no knowledge of the place!
Deerslayer, the French fought a 100 year war. Nearly a third as long as the US has been around. Tell us some Polish jokes while you're at it.
It appears the major countries in the world are so into PC and multi culturalism they re ignoring obvious warning signs !
This guy goes to Afghanistan twice , is on the no fly list and he is moving freely in Europe !
At least the French seem to avoid costly trials as terrorists seldom survive a confrontation with French police !
Islam the religion of peace. What absolute BS, this poor excuse for a human being should have been eradicated a long time ago, before he inflicted these crimes against humanity. Appropriately named Mohamed, the Satan of Islam. How civilized people can believe in this religion defies logic. If there is a hell they're all heading there willingly, all for sex with some "virgins". I suspect they will be sows, oops my bad, they're called gilts. Islamic women, on the other hand, well they don't get crap. Of course if they're lesbos then maybe a gilt or two.
It's a religion. That should tell you all you need to know.
Terrorism is about Islam in the same way that the Irish troubles were about a battle between Catholics and Protestants. In other words, it is not. It is rooted in a struggle for power. Bin Laden's dream was to rebuild an Islamic caliphate from long ago. In the middle east. The US stepped in the middle of it after the first Iraq war, by placing forces in Saudi. You can try to make it an 'Islam is bad' thing, but that's only the view of people who like to see the world as about religions and struggles between religions.
Louie - If there is no fundamental flaw in Islam or its modern practice, Then why are 99% of suicide bombers Muslim?
So how did this spymaster genius deduce that the school wasn't planned 2nd on the list even if he had hit the solider?
Inspector Closseau interviewed the gunman post-mortem through a seance with a ghost-whisperer. It's on cable later tonight.
Religion of Peace strikes again!
Louie you are a douche. I don't mean that as an insult but your essence like your insight should only be allowed to clean vaginas. have a nice day.
Ewwwww...why would any woman want to clean her vagina with THAT?
Most Muslims aren't terrorists. But most terrorists ARE Muslims. That is a fact. And if you have read the Koran, studied the hadiths, you will know why. Yes, some of it is also because of the ethnic groups that have found Islam attractive, and their own rather base tribalism and treatment of women. But the Koran helps them justify what they do, just as the BIble once helped Southern slave owners justify slavery (there have to be "hewers of wood and drawers of water," after all.)
Religion is a disease. Ideology, religious or not, is a disease. Science and reason are the cures.
...there will come a time in this country when we'll have to start playing Cowboys and Muslims...and we know what happened to the last group that lost that bet...this time there will be no reservations...just six feet under
Kannin, You are right, the Jews and Christians should leave the Arab Peninsula. But on the reverse of the medallion, I would sure like to see all the Muslims out of here and back to the Arab Peninsula. BON VOYAGE!
Deerslayer-2559262
You are a douche bag..about saying anything bad about the French..VIVE L'AMERIQUE ET VIVE LA FRANCE "ALWAYS". You might not like the French, but the U.S.A and France are allied. You are an ignorant monkey. "Monkey see, Monkey do" in your case it is "Monkey hear, Monkey Believes"
I think anyone who kills children is not right with any god. Those who say it is for their cause have delusions of grandeur.They are weak minded fools who will never be a benefit to their cause only a detriment. True soldiers of God need no weapons, truth hurts a lot worse to those who do not practice what they preach. France is an ally who deserves respect, and compassion.