# French Soldiers Shot in Public Areas



## Rifleman62

*Two French paratroopers shot dead on street*

By JOHANNA DECORSE, Associated Press

Thursday, March 15, 2012, 10:52 PDT TOULOUSE, France (AP) --

A gunman on a motorbike opened fire on three French paratroopers at a bank machine in southern France, killing two and critically wounding one of them Thursday, officials said. It was the second such attack in a week targeting French soldiers in a public place.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry had issued a statement saying all three paratroopers had died, but a local police official and a Defense Ministry official later said one of them was in critical condition.

The three uniformed soldiers had been standing at a bank machine in the town of Montauban when a helmeted assailant arrived on a motorbike and opened fire, then fled, the police official said.

Defense Minister Gerard Longuet expressed his condolences to the soldiers, their families and their regiment in a statement. They all three served with the 17th paratrooper combat engineering regiment, based nearby.

On Sunday, a 30-year-old soldier was fatally shot near a gymnasium in the southern city of Toulouse by an unidentified attacker.

Neither the defense minister nor police announced any link between the two attacks, and the motives remain unclear.

The police official said the two soldiers killed Thursday were 24 and 26 years old.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/03/15/international/i100131D15.DTL#ixzz1pDXzZsIp


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17389013

*
Two soldiers shot dead in south-west France*

Two soldiers have been killed and a third wounded by a gunman on a scooter who opened fire near a military base at Montauban in southern France.

Earlier reports said all three had died. Police said the soldiers were withdrawing cash, but theft did not appear to be the motive.

The attacker, wearing a helmet with a visor, sped off after opening fire.

The attack took place near a military base housing the country's 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment.

Some 15 spent cartridges were found at the scene, police said.

"The theft was not the motive of the murders," a police official in Montauban told the BBC, adding that all avenues of inquiry were currently open.

He described a potential link between Thursday's shootings and the gunning down of another soldier in Toulouse on Sunday as "a possibility, not a certainty".

The two soldiers who died were aged 24 and 26 and the third, aged 28, is in hospital. French media reports quoting officials earlier said that the third soldier had died from his injuries, but the defence ministry and police later said he remained in a critical condition.

France's Defence Minister, Gerard Longuet, issued a statement expressing his "deepest sorrow at the assassination of the two soldiers, and the wounding of a third".

He said he had every confidence that the police would ensure justice was achieved in the case.

A large number of police officers are already involved in an extensive search for the gunman and prosecutors have said that they are considering a number of possibilities, including that the shooting was the result of a personal dispute.

The incident follows another shooting, on Sunday, when a 30-year-old soldier was shot dead by an assailant on a motorcycle in a residential area of Toulouse, 29 miles (46km) south of Montauban.

The south-west of the country is home to all of France's elite airborne units.


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## GAP

I have to wonder if this is at all tied to the French government enforcing illegal immigration and imposing restrictions on burka's among many anti-immigrant changes in the past few years.....


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## The Bread Guy

Could also be some Basque or Corsican hot-heads ...

Condolences to all involved


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## medicineman

RIP Troops  

Condolences and prayers to families and units.

MM


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## Danjanou

Damn

RIP Brothers


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## The Bread Guy

Here's an online web form through which you can send an e-mail to France's military attache at the Embassy in Ottawa if you feel the need to send condolences.


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## wildman0101

RIP Brother's.   Scoty B


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## RememberanceDay

So young....


Au revoir, mes amies. RIP.


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## Jungle

Reposez en Paix...  



> *La Prière du Para*
> 
> Donnez-moi, mon Dieu, ce qui vous reste
> Donnez-moi ce qu’on ne vous demande jamais.
> Je ne vous demande pas le repos
> Ni la tranquillité
> Ni celle de l’âme, ni celle du corps.
> Je ne vous demande pas la richesse
> Ni le succès, ni même la santé.
> Tout ça, mon Dieu, on vous le demande tellement
> Que vous ne devez plus en avoir.
> Donnez-moi, mon Dieu, ce qui vous reste
> Donnez-moi ce qu’on vous refuse.
> Je veux l’insécurité et l’inquiétude.
> Je veux la tourmente et la bagarre.
> Et que vous me les donniez, mon Dieu, définitivement.
> Que je suis sûr de les avoir toujours
> Car je n’aurai pas toujours le courage
> De vous les demander.
> Donnez-moi, mon Dieu, ce qui vous reste.
> Donnez-moi ce dont les autres ne veulent pas.
> Mais donnez-moi aussi le courage
> Et la force et la Foi.
> 
> André Zirnheld Parachutiste de la France Libre Mort au champ d’honneur en 1942


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## jollyjacktar

Deepest condolences.  Find the guilty and make them pay dearly.    :yellow:


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## Sythen

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Here's an online web form through which you can send an e-mail to France's military attache at the Embassy in Ottawa if you feel the need to send condolences.



Got a response from the French Defence Attaché Office:

La mission de défense d'Ottawa, très sensible à votre témoignage de
sympathie et de soutien adressé aux proches des victimes, vous prie
d'accepter ses remerciements pour vos respectueuses et chaleureuses
condoléances, et se fait un devoir de relayer votre message.

The Defence Attaché Office in Ottawa was deeply touched by your
expression of sympathy and support to the victims' families and wishes
to thank you for your warm and respectful condolences. We will make it
our duty to pass on your message.


Colonel Siegfried Usal,
Attaché de défense près l'Ambassade de France au Canada
Defence Attaché to the Embassy of France in Canada


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## The Bread Guy

Sythen said:
			
		

> Got a response from the French Defence Attaché Office:
> 
> La mission de défense d'Ottawa, très sensible à votre témoignage de
> sympathie et de soutien adressé aux proches des victimes, vous prie
> d'accepter ses remerciements pour vos respectueuses et chaleureuses
> condoléances, et se fait un devoir de relayer votre message.
> 
> The Defence Attaché Office in Ottawa was deeply touched by your
> expression of sympathy and support to the victims' families and wishes
> to thank you for your warm and respectful condolences. We will make it
> our duty to pass on your message.
> 
> 
> Colonel Siegfried Usal,
> Attaché de défense près l'Ambassade de France au Canada
> Defence Attaché to the Embassy of France in Canada


Thanks for sharing that - good to see the link/page working.


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## jollyjacktar

I received the same reply this afternoon.  Nice to get some response.  I hope they hunt down those responsible swiftly and deal with them as the French sometimes do in cases like this.  With vigor.


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## medicineman

Sythen said:
			
		

> Got a response from the French Defence Attaché Office:
> 
> La mission de défense d'Ottawa, très sensible à votre témoignage de
> sympathie et de soutien adressé aux proches des victimes, vous prie
> d'accepter ses remerciements pour vos respectueuses et chaleureuses
> condoléances, et se fait un devoir de relayer votre message.
> 
> The Defence Attaché Office in Ottawa was deeply touched by your
> expression of sympathy and support to the victims' families and wishes
> to thank you for your warm and respectful condolences. We will make it
> our duty to pass on your message.
> 
> 
> Colonel Siegfried Usal,
> Attaché de défense près l'Ambassade de France au Canada
> Defence Attaché to the Embassy of France in Canada



I got one of those today too.

MM


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## The Bread Guy

No word if this in the same area is linked, but French security appears to be cranked up now.....


> The man who killed four people at a Jewish school in Toulouse had a camera around his neck and may have filmed the scene, France's interior minister says.
> 
> Claude Gueant said the camera was one clue helping police build a profile, as the manhunt intensifies with the area on the highest level of terror alert.
> 
> Police have linked the attack to two shootings last week in which three soldiers of North African descent died.
> 
> The same gun and the same scooter were used in all the attacks.
> 
> French schools held a minute's silence on Tuesday ....


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## Wookilar

Heard on the radio that one of the weapons in the school shootings, a .45, was linked positively with the shootings of the paratroopers.

Looking for a printed or online source to back it up.

Shooting soldiers, albeit unarmed, is one thing.....shooting a 4 year old...........

Wook


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## jollyjacktar

Also heard on the radio on the way into work today that it is suspected the shooters may be some neo-nazi types who were kicked out of the French military in 08.  Seeing as the Para's were of N African ethnicity and the kids were Jewish, there may be something to this theory.  Nevertheless, I hope the Gendarmes or whichever get to them first applies vigorous mineral therapy on site.  Sounds like they need it badly.


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## jollyjacktar

An update that is ongoing as I type.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/03/21/france-shooting-suspects.html

[size=12pt]*French police in standoff with suspected killer*[/size]
*Three officers injured in gunfight, minister says*
The Associated Press Posted: Mar 21, 2012 1:46 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 21, 2012 6:37 AM ET 

A predawn police raid on a home in Toulouse erupted into a firefight Wednesday with a gunman who claims connections to al-Qaeda and is suspected of killing three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers.  The man has thrown his handgun out a window but has other weapons on him, including an AK-47 assault rifle, and has used them in volleys with police surrounding the building in this southwestern city, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said.  Three policemen have been wounded in the operation, which is still ongoing, Gueant said. The suspect's brother has been arrested.  Gueant said the suspect is talking to a police negotiator and says he'll surrender in the afternoon. The minister says police want to take him alive.

'He said he wants to avenge the deaths of Palestinians.'  —French Interior Minister Claude GueantThe suspect is 24 years old, of French nationality and says "he belongs to al-Qaeda," Gueant told reporters. He said the suspect "wants to take revenge for Palestinian children" killed in the Middle East, and is angry at the French military for its operations abroad.  The man was known to authorities for having spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The shooting suspect is "talking a lot, claiming his jihadist convictions" and calling himself a "mujahedeen," Gueant said.  "He said he wants to avenge the deaths of Palestinians," the minister said, adding that he is "less explicit" about killing French paratroopers.  Authorities have been conducting a massive manhunt across a swath of southern France after seven people were killed in three attacks over the past several days, and France's terror alert level was raised to its highest level ever in the region.

A French paratrooper was killed in Toulouse on March 11, two other paratroopers were killed and one injured on Thursday in the nearby town of Montauban, and three children and a rabbi were killed in a shooting at a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday.  The suspect in the attacks drove a powerful motorcycle, and the same weapon, a Colt 45, was used in all three shootings. Another less powerful weapon also was used in the attack on the Jewish school.

Police arrived overnight Wednesday to raid the house in Toulouse, near the site of the first killing.  "When they arrived … the wanted individual shot at the door," Gueant said.  One officer was injured in the knee and another officer was lightly injured in ensuing exchanges of fire, Gueant said.  Officers brought the suspect's mother to the scene and tried to get her to help negotiate, but she refused, saying "she had little influence on him," Gueant said.

For years the main terrorist threat that French authorities have been concerned about has been al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which grew from an extremist group in the former French colony of Algeria.  French officials have been worried that the group may try to conduct an action in France ahead of presidential elections in April and May, a counterterrorism official told The Associated Press this week. So far, it has never succeeded in reaching across the Mediterranean Sea to strike in Europe.

While the Toulouse raid was under way, the bodies of the four victims of the school shooting arrived in Israel for burial. The three children and a rabbi will be buried in a Jerusalem cemetery later Wednesday.  They were gunned down on Monday in the deadliest school shooting France has ever known and the bloodiest attack on Jewish targets in decades.  The bodies of the rabbi, two of his children and a daughter of the school's principal were accompanied to Israel by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe. They landed early Wednesday. 

© The Associated Press, 2012


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## The Bread Guy

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Could also be some Basque or Corsican hot-heads ....


I stand _quite_ corrected.....





> French school shooting suspect Mohamed Merah had been arrested for bomb making in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in 2007 but escaped months later in a Taliban prison break, the director of prisons in Kandahar told Reuters.
> 
> Merah, a French citizen of Algerian origin, was suspected of killing seven people in the name of al Qaeda, including three children at a Jewish school in southwestern France.
> 
> Kandahar prison chief Ghulam Faruq said that security forces detained Merah on December 19, 2007, and he was sentenced to three years in jail for planting bombs in Kandahar province, the Taliban's birthplace.
> 
> Merah escaped jail along with up to 1,000 prisoners, including 400 Taliban insurgents, during a Taliban attack on southern Afghanistan's main prison in June 2008 ....


Reuters, 21 Mar 12

Perhaps this escape?
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/77267.0.html


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## OldSolduer

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Thanks for sharing that - good to see the link/page working.



Condolences sent.

RIP troops


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## jollyjacktar

And, he's been bagged.  Sadly not body bagged.     Shared with the usual caveats.  Full story and photo at link below.

French police arrest suspect in Toulouse shooting
2 officers injured in gunfight outside Toulouse apartment building
CBC News Posted: Mar 21, 2012 1:46 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 21, 2012 9:54 AM ET 

A man wanted in a series of killings in southern France, the latest claiming the lives of three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school, has been arrested after a standoff with police, French TV stations are reporting today.  The news Wednesday came nearly 12 hours after police tried to carry out an early-morning raid on an apartment building in northern Toulouse in which two officers were injured in a shootout.

As negotiations continued, with 300 officers surrounding the building, French television channels BFM TV and i-Tele reported an arrest, without providing further details.  Officers swept in soon after 3 a.m. Wednesday, and after the initial attempt at making an arrest failed, began talks with the 24-year-old suspect, described as a French citizen of Algerian descent who claimed to have links to al-Qaeda.

More to come

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/03/21/france-shooting-suspects.html


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## The Bread Guy

jollyjacktar said:
			
		

> And, he's been bagged.  Sadly not body bagged.     Shared with the usual caveats.  Full story and photo at link below.
> 
> French police arrest suspect in Toulouse shooting
> 2 officers injured in gunfight outside Toulouse apartment building
> CBC News Posted: Mar 21, 2012 1:46 AM ET Last Updated: Mar 21, 2012 9:54 AM ET
> 
> A man wanted in a series of killings in southern France, the latest claiming the lives of three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school, has been arrested after a standoff with police, French TV stations are reporting today ....


Beware initial reports from quickly-unfolding events.....


> *A 23-year-old gunman suspected of killing seven people in southwestern France in the name of al Qaeda, jumped from a window to his death in a hail of bullets after police stormed his apartment on Thursday.*
> 
> "At the moment when a video probe was sent into the bathroom, the killer came out of the bathroom, firing with extreme violence," Interior Minister Claude Gueant said, adding that Merah was firing several guns at once.
> 
> "In the end, Mohamed Merah jumped from the window with his gun in his hand, continuing to fire. He was found dead on the ground," he told reporters at the scene. Two police commandos were wounded.
> 
> Special forces entered the five-storey building in a suburb of Toulouse after besieging Merah since early on Wednesday.
> 
> Gueant said earlier police hoped to capture Merah, who had confessed to police negotiators to killing three soldiers as well as three Jewish children and a rabbi at a school, alive ....


Reuters, 22 Mar 12

BBC obit here


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## jollyjacktar

Ah! So a happy ending after all.  I did see that I was presumptuous in the bagged report later on but as it was a new one every couple of hours I thought it best to shut up.  Much to everyone's pleasure I'm sure.


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## OldSolduer

The Taliban or AQ will have a field day with their propaganda machines.

"Martyr Enters Paradise After Killing 37 French Infidel Swine" or words to that effect.

I would have said "Capitalist running Dogs" but that was a Communist saying many years ago.


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## cphansen

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> The Taliban or AQ will have a field day with their propaganda machines.
> 
> "Martyr Enters Paradise After Killing 37 French Infidel Swine" or words to that effect.
> 
> I would have said "Capitalist running Dogs" but that was a Communist saying many years ago.



Disgust Mode ON >  

How about AQ saying "Martyr Enters Paradise After Killing 7 French Brothers and People of the Book Including 3 Innocent Children."

I cannot properly express my disgust at the actions of this baby killing swine and my contempt towards the Palestinians who permit this evil to be committed in their behalf. Evil is Evil no matter what God you profess your faith to.


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## observor 69

Toulouse gunman killed by sniper

A police sniper shot and killed the gunman who carried out a spate of murders in southern France, prosecutors say, after a 32-hour siege in Toulouse.

Mohammed Merah, 23, who claimed to have al-Qaeda training, opened fire on police commandos after they stormed into his flat at 09:30 GMT.

Prosecutors said he was shot in the head as he tried to flee.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17473207


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## OldSolduer

Baden  Guy said:
			
		

> Prosecutors said he was shot in the head as he tried to flee.
> 
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17473207


Oh darn. Poor fellow. Wonder how Paradise is?


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## GAP

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> Oh darn. Poor fellow. Wonder how Paradise is?



I hear they are out of virgins.....


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## OldSolduer

GAP said:
			
		

> I hear they are out of virgins.....



Not what I heard.....I heard they had lots. They are all male and extremely nasty looking......or so I been told ......LOL >


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## jollyjacktar

Baden  Guy said:
			
		

> Prosecutors said he was shot in the head as he tried to flee.
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17473207


I did have hopes the Gendarmes would pacify him with vigorous mineral therapy.  All folks like him should receive therapy and cut down on court costs.


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## GAP

Toulouse gunman’s father plans to sue France over son’s death
Agence France-Presse  Mar 26, 2012
Article Link

ALGIERS — The Islamist gunman whose murder spree shocked France will be buried in his ancestral homeland Algeria, his father told AFP Monday, adding that he planned to sue France over his son’s death.

“[God willing], I have decided to bury my son in Algeria,” Mohamed Benalel Merah said, referring to his son Mohamed Merah, 23, who was shot dead by French police on Thursday in Toulouse at the end of a stand-off after his shooting attacks that killed seven.

“Mohamed has an Algerian passport and has been listed with the [Algerian] consulate in Toulouse since his birth,” the elder Merah said.

He also hit out against France for having shot his son instead of taking him alive at the end of a 32-hour siege at his apartment in Toulouse.

“France is a big country that had the means to take my son alive. They could have knocked him out with gas and taken him in,” he said. “They preferred to kill him.”

“I will hire the biggest named lawyers and work for the rest of my life to pay (their) costs. I will sue France for having killing my son.”
end


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## Jungle

GAP said:
			
		

> “I will hire the biggest named lawyers and work for the rest of my life to pay (their) costs. I will sue France for having killing my son.”
> end



How about this dude gets mad at his son for being an idiot... and feel some sympathy for the victims and their families.   :


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## jollyjacktar

Jungle said:
			
		

> How about this dude gets mad at his son for being an idiot... and feel some sympathy for the victims and their families.   :


Seeing as Big Bro is a cheerleader and accomplice, I don't imagine that the apple fell far from the tree in regards to dear o'l Dad.  The French should sue the shit out of him instead.


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## George Wallace

Perhaps 'dear o'l dad' is in on the plot and needs additional funding.  

Sum him up quickly and move on.

Algerians have been the root causes of terrorist attacks in France since the 1950's.


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## OldSolduer

jollyjacktar said:
			
		

> Seeing as Big Bro is a cheerleader and accomplice, I don't imagine that the apple fell far from the tree in regards to dear o'l Dad.  The French should sue the crap out of him instead.



I'd say dad needs mineral therapy......ya know?


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## George Wallace

How many grams of Cu and Pb are you talking about?


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## jollyjacktar

George Wallace said:
			
		

> How many grams of Cu and Pb are you talking about?


I believe he means the same as me.  About 115 grains of copper sheeted lead.   >


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## Retired AF Guy

What the French government should do is cremate the gunman's body and dump the ashes it over the countryside. That would make sure there's no no martyr's grave for young jihadists to visit.


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## George Wallace

For those no longer interested in the Periodic Table:

Cu (Copper)
Pb (Lead)

Just in case you are wondering about the sidetrack above.    >


115 grains only?   Or multiple times?     > >


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## jollyjacktar

George Wallace said:
			
		

> For those no longer interested in the Periodic Table:
> 
> Cu (Copper)
> Pb (Lead)
> 
> Just in case you are wondering about the sidetrack above.    >
> 
> 
> 115 grains only?   Or multiple times?     > >



See, I'm just a dumb Hairybag.  Never took Chemistry in school.

But, I believe in multiple doses until the feeling goes away.  For both sides... :nod:


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## George Wallace

Just trying to ensure that the General Population don't walk away with a confirmation that we as members/former members of the CF are illiterate, womanizing, baby killing, knuckle dragging, mongoloids that speak in monosyllables whilst living in the back woods of CFB Wherethefuckami.  Most of us really do have edumacations, are well versed in Reality TV, listen to New Age Music, drink Red Bull and know TLAs like you wouldn't believe........Well, some of us do. 

;D

Off to Radio Chatter I go.   :nod:


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## GAP

Mohamed Merah to be buried in France after Algeria rejects killer’s body
Reuters  Mar 29, 2012
Article Link

PARIS/ALGIERS — Algerian authorities have refused to allow the body of an al-Qaeda-inspired gunman who killed seven people in France this month to be sent there for burial, an Algerian government source and an official at a top French mosque said on Thursday.

Mohamed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian origin who was shot dead by a police sniper last week following a more than 30-hour siege at his home in the southern city of Toulouse, will instead be buried there, Abdallah Zekri told Reuters.

Zekri, an adviser to the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris who was in Toulouse dealing with the funeral arrangements, said the mayor of the Algerian village of Bezzaz, where Merah’s father wanted him buried, had declined the request for security reasons.

“The mayor of Bezzaz gave a negative response,” he said. “He should be buried within 24 hours, probably in the Toulouse region, but it will be kept strictly private.”

An Algerian government source confirmed that the North African government had refused to admit Merah’s body for burial in his home village, as requested by the gunman’s father.

“Algeria has nothing to do with this case, and we do not understand why some circles in France are trying to involve us in it. This is why we took the decision to not admit the body for now in Algeria,” said the source, who asked not to be named. “This is a temporary decision.”

On Wednesday, Mohamed Merah’s father, Mohamed Benalel Merah, told Reuters that transferring the required paperwork from the consulate in Toulouse to the Algerian region of Medea, where the desolate hamlet of Bezzaz is located, meant it could take some time before the body could be flown there.

Merah, 23, a self-styled Islamist radical, confessed during the police standoff to having shot dead three soldiers, a rabbi and three Jewish children at point-blank range in a spate of attacks that shook France a month from a presidential election.

His father has lashed out at French authorities for killing his son rather than arresting him and putting him on trial, and says he wants to sue the French government.

Merah’s body is currently at a hospital morgue in Toulouse and prosecutors are investigating his elder brother, Abdelkader, for possible complicity in the case.
end


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## jollyjacktar

Cremate the body and scatter the ashes.  That way he cannot go to paradise.   >  And his grave cannot become a shrine to other losers out there.


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## davidc538

Seeing this made me curious wether france still has capital punishment or not. Regretfully they don't.


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## Retired AF Guy

davidc538 said:
			
		

> Seeing this made me curious wether france still has capital punishment or not. Regretfully they don't.



No EU member country has capital punishment. In fact, its abolition is one the preconditions to joining the EU.


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## davidc538

Retired AF Guy said:
			
		

> No EU member country has capital punishment. In fact, its abolition is one the preconditions to joining the EU.



Thats a shame, everyone once in a while I see something where I feel its totally deserved.


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## jollyjacktar

I wouldn't worry about it.  They made sure he did not survive to see his arrest, he helped in that too.  More than one way to skin a cat.


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