'Al Qaeda' militant claims to have been trained in Waziristan

Toulouse, Mar 22(ANI): French Police have quoted an al Qaeda militant in their custody as saying that he was trained by al Qaeda in Waziristan on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Prosecutors said Alegerian -origin Mohamed Merah, 23 also claimed to have "brought France to its knees" with a wave of deadly attacks.

"He expressed no regret apart from not having had enough time to kill more victims and even boasted of having brought France to its knees," the Express Tribune quoted French anti-terror prosecutor Francois Molins, as saying.

"Mohamed Merah explained that he belonged to al Qaeda. He explained he had been trained by al Qaeda in the Pakistani-Afghanistan region in Waziristan," he added.

Molins said Merah had claimed responsibility for three shootings that occurred over the past 10 days in which three French paratroopers, three Jewish children and a teacher were killed.

He claimed to be avenging Palestinian deaths and opposing the French military's involvement in Afghanistan and France's ban on full-face veils.

French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said the gunman had said that he received orders from Al-Qaeda to execute the attack.

"He explained how he received instructions from al Qaeda during his stay in Pakistan, how he had even been suggested to carry out a suicide mission and refused, but accepted to carry out a general mission to commit an attack in France," Gueant said.

Police and prosecutors said they have also arrested Merah's mother, brother and his brother's girlfriend as part of the inquiry. (ANI)