France suspect dead after resisting assault

TOULOUSE, France, Mar 22 – The alleged Al-Qaeda militant believed responsible for a killing spree is dead, a police source said Thursday, after he resisted a raid on his besieged home in southern France.

Three police were wounded in the assault, one “fairly seriously”, with journalists able to hear sustained gunfire from at least two weapons as police entered the flat in Toulouse where Mohamed Merah was holed up.

Around 300 shots were fired in all during the assault and Merah was wearing a backpack with unknown contents when they found him, police sources said, after a siege of over 30 hours.

Interior Minister Claude Gueant had earlier said police police had lost contact with Merah but that he had told authorities he wanted “to die weapons in hand”.

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