Merah's mother filled with remorse; his brother "proud"

Family members of Toulouse killer Mohamed Merah have been brought in for questioning in an attempt to understand the details surrounding the past two week’s crimes. While his mother expressed feelings of guilt and remorse, Merah’s brother said on Saturday that he was “proud” of his sibling.

Reuters/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Abdelkader, the older brother of the French gunman who killed seven people since 11 March, was transferred from Toulouse to Paris with his girlfriend on Saturday for questioning by anti-terrorist police.

Besides speaking of his pride for his sibling, Abdelkader also admitted being present when the scooter used for the killings was stolen.

However, he said he knew nothing of his brother’s criminal intentions, and denied aiding Merah. A search of Abdelkader's home by police did not uncover any weapons or explosives, and his computer did not contain anything conclusive.

Meanwhile, Merah’s mother Zoulhika Aziri was released without charge in Toulouse, following police questioning.

Her lawyer Jean-Yves Gougnaud said Aziri was wracked with guilt and remorse, and wondered if she could have prevented the crimes.

“She’s angry,” said Gougnaud to journalists outside the police station where Aziri was temporarily held. “She is wondering why her son did this and blames herself somewhat.”

Merah was killed by police on Thursday, after trying to shoot his way out of his Toulouse apartment, which was surrounded by France’s elite RAID unit during a 32-hour siege.

Police have faced criticism concerning how operations were handled, especially the final raid that ended in Merah’s death.

Christian Prouteau, who founded another elite French police unit GIGN, said tear gas should have been used in order to capture Merah alive.

Other critics said Merah’s crimes could have been prevented, considering that he had been tracked by French authorities since a 2010 trip to Afghanistan.

Still, the head of France’s DCRI intelligence agency, Bernard Squarcini, said that there was little more that could have been done to prevent Merah from acting.

France’s Prime Minister François Fillon backed up Squarcini, telling French radio on Friday that the intelligence services “did their job perfectly well.”

Before being killed by police on Thursday, Mohamed Merah shot and killed seven people in and around Toulouse between 11 and 19 March.

Three soldiers, three Jewish children and a trainee rabbi were among the victims.

Merah claimed to be an Al-Qaeda member, who said he had killed to punish France for its presence in Afghanistan, as well as to avenge the deaths of Palestinian children killed by Israel.