Two articles on the next round of activity in finding the loose ends that were tied to Mohamed Merah, specifically his brother Abdelkader. Here is more context on the brother and added info on the jihadist.
From the Daily Mail March 24 by Peter Allen
From France24 March 25
From the Daily Mail March 24 by Peter Allen
Toulouse gunman Mohammed Merah had links to Islamic extremists in Britain
The Al Qaeda gunman who shot dead seven people in France was in touch with British Islamic extremists as recently as last year, security sources in Paris said yesterday.
Mohammed Merah, 23, who was killed when police commandos stormed his flat in Toulouse last week, is said to have met UK-based jihadists on a visit to Afghanistan. His codename – ‘Youssef Toulouse’ – was passed to British security agents.
The disclosures came as the girlfriend of one of Merah’s victims said she intended to marry her partner in a posthumous ceremony.
Caroline Monet, 21, has been given presidential permission to wed 25-year-old Corporal Abel Chennouf, who was shot dead at a cash machine in the town of Montauban, near Toulouse, this month.
Merah’s brother Abdelkader, 29, and his 30-year-old wife, who has not been named, face charges of ‘conspiracy to commit terrorist acts’.
Abdelkader has boasted of feeling ‘very proud’ of his brother, who killed three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers.
Merah had been tracked by French authorities since he broke out of an Afghan prison in 2008. He worked as a mechanic in France, but returned to the Middle East to train with the Taliban. He is thought to have gone to Pakistan in 2010 and reached the Afghan capital Kabul that November. He was picked up by US security agents and sent back to France.
Detectives believe Merah and his brother, an international terrorist suspect, were involved in two Islamist organisations, Forsane Alizza (The Knights of Pride) and Al Qaeda splinter group Jund al-Khilafah.
A security source in Paris said: ‘Not only were members of these groups in touch with British jihadists while in Europe, they would also have met them in Afghanistan.’
From France24 March 25
Preliminary charges filed against gunman's brother
AP - A Frenchman suspected of helping his brother plot attacks against Jewish schoolchildren and paratroopers was handed preliminary murder and terrorism charges Sunday.
But Abdelkader Merah denied any role in the attacks. Investigators looking into France’s worst terror attacks in years believe Merah helped his brother Mohamed prepare the killings, and are investigating whether they were linked to an international network of extremists or worked on their own.
Abdelkader’s lawyer said he feels like “a scapegoat.”
“No one knew anything” about what Mohamed was plotting, lawyer Anne-Sophie Laguens told reporters in Paris. She dismissed reports that Abdelkader had praised his brother’s attacks. “He was never proud of those actions.”
Mohamed Merah, 23, claimed responsibility for killing three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers earlier this month. After a 32-hour standoff with police, he died Thursday in a hail of gunfire as he jumped out a window of his apartment in the southern city of Toulouse.
Since then, attention has focused on his older brother Abdelkader Merah, who was handed preliminary charges on Sunday of complicity to murder and theft, and involvement in a terrorist enterprise, prosecutors said. Detained last week, he will remain in custody pending further investigation.
Preliminary charges under French law mean there is strong reason to believe a crime was committed, but allow magistrates more time to investigate.
Authorities suspect Abdelkader had a role in acquiring his younger brother’s arsenal and financing his trips to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East. Mohamed Merah claimed allegiance to al-Qaida and told police he traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan for training.
Abdelkader was questioned several years ago about alleged links to a network sending Toulouse-area youths to Iraq, but no action was brought against him at the time.
Prosecutor Francois Molins said the inquiry is also looking at anyone else who could have been involved in planning the attacks.
The brother’s girlfriend, Yamina Mesbah, was held, then released early Sunday without being charged. The Merah brothers’ mother was released Friday night.
The girlfriend denied any involvement in what happened and said she was shocked by the killings, her lawyer Guy Debuisson said, adding that Abdelkader Merah appeared to have led a double life.
“This woman was unaware of anything about her husband’s accessory, complementary or secret life,” the lawyer said. The couple married according to Muslim custom in 2006, but did not undergo the civil ceremony required in France for a marriage to be recognized.
Abdelkader Merah took five or six long trips to Egypt, ostensibly to study Arabic literature, and his girlfriend joined him on two or three, the lawyer said.
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But Abdelkader Merah denied any role in the attacks. Investigators looking into France’s worst terror attacks in years believe Merah helped his brother Mohamed prepare the killings, and are investigating whether they were linked to an international network of extremists or worked on their own.
Abdelkader’s lawyer said he feels like “a scapegoat.”
“No one knew anything” about what Mohamed was plotting, lawyer Anne-Sophie Laguens told reporters in Paris. She dismissed reports that Abdelkader had praised his brother’s attacks. “He was never proud of those actions.”
Mohamed Merah, 23, claimed responsibility for killing three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers earlier this month. After a 32-hour standoff with police, he died Thursday in a hail of gunfire as he jumped out a window of his apartment in the southern city of Toulouse.
Since then, attention has focused on his older brother Abdelkader Merah, who was handed preliminary charges on Sunday of complicity to murder and theft, and involvement in a terrorist enterprise, prosecutors said. Detained last week, he will remain in custody pending further investigation.
Preliminary charges under French law mean there is strong reason to believe a crime was committed, but allow magistrates more time to investigate.
Authorities suspect Abdelkader had a role in acquiring his younger brother’s arsenal and financing his trips to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East. Mohamed Merah claimed allegiance to al-Qaida and told police he traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan for training.
Abdelkader was questioned several years ago about alleged links to a network sending Toulouse-area youths to Iraq, but no action was brought against him at the time.
Prosecutor Francois Molins said the inquiry is also looking at anyone else who could have been involved in planning the attacks.
The brother’s girlfriend, Yamina Mesbah, was held, then released early Sunday without being charged. The Merah brothers’ mother was released Friday night.
The girlfriend denied any involvement in what happened and said she was shocked by the killings, her lawyer Guy Debuisson said, adding that Abdelkader Merah appeared to have led a double life.
“This woman was unaware of anything about her husband’s accessory, complementary or secret life,” the lawyer said. The couple married according to Muslim custom in 2006, but did not undergo the civil ceremony required in France for a marriage to be recognized.
Abdelkader Merah took five or six long trips to Egypt, ostensibly to study Arabic literature, and his girlfriend joined him on two or three, the lawyer said.
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