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The shooter of one adult and three children outside a French school, and three soldiers in previous drive by shootings is this morning under siege. The man has been identified as  Mohammed Merah, 24, a Frenchman of Algerian origin. He has reportedly admitted the killings claiming that they were carried out as revenge attacks to "avenge Palestinian children". He has also claimed that he belongs to  al-Qaeda a.

At time of writing there are reports of injuries sustained by two police officers during the siege. A fresh blast has also been heard. His siblings have also been questioned and one brother has been arrested. Interior Minister Claude Gueant said "Our main concern is to catch him and to catch him under such conditions that he can be brought to justice." He went on to say that,  "The suspect claims to be a mujahideen and to belong to al-Qaeda," having visited Pakistan and Afghanistan on numerous occasions. " He wanted revenge for the Palestinian children and he also wanted to take revenge on the French army because of its foreign interventions."

Early reports indicate that this man was already on the radar of police investigation the earlier deaths of soldiers. People will now be wondering why the investigation team did not act more quickly.

Full story here updates to follow.