French Alps Shooting: Bomb Disposal Unit Called To House Of Al-Hilli Family In Claygate, Surrey

Bomb Disposal Unit Called To House Of Al-Hilli Family

An army bomb disposal unit was called to the house of family who were victims of a gun attack in the French alps on Monday morning amid "concerns" over items found at the address.

The disposal experts arrived at around 10.30am and the search appeared to focus on a shed or workshop at the bottom of the garden.

Neighbours living close to the property in the affluent village of Claygate, Surrey were evacuated from their homes.

However at midday, the bomb disposal unit left the area and the wider police cordon was lifted. Firearms officers remain at the scene.

There were concerns over objects found at the address after police searched the family home for clues

In France, AFP reported that only one gun was used in the attack during which 25 shots were fired. The calibre was not disclosed.

There has been speculation that the family were the subject of a professional hit

Attention on the property has intensified as police in Annecy in France waited to question seven-year-old Zainab al-Hilli, who has regained consciousness following the attack that left her parents dead.

Iraqi born Saad al-Hilli was killed in the car alongside his wife and mother-in-law

Her father Saad al-Hilli, 50, was murdered in his car alongside his dentist wife, Iqbal, on Wednesday while the family holidayed in the picturesque region.

The campsite where the family was holidaying before the tragedy

Mrs al-Hilli's mother also died in the shooting along with Sylvain Mollier, 45, a French cyclist who apparently stumbled across the attack.

Zainab's younger sister Zeena, four, who survived after she hid behind her mother, flew back to Britain with carers on Sunday.

Police plan to look at aspects of Mr al-Hilli's life to try to find a motive for the murders and also speak with his brother, Zaid Hilli.

Mr al-Hilli's brother has approached UK police to deny any feud with his sibling over an inheritance.

Police have been forced to cordon off the road around the house and residents have been asked to leave neighbouring properties

Police have yet to speak to Zainab, who was shot and beaten during the ordeal and is seen as a key witness.

She remains under sedation after coming out of a medically-induced coma.

Public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said the child will be interviewed as soon as doctors allow it.

British police are now working alongside their French counterparts to unravel the mystery surrounding the four deaths.

It is believed detectives are looking into Mr al-Hilli's professional life for possible clues. He worked as a contractor for a satellite technology company in Surrey.

Witnesses have said they saw a green four-wheel-drive vehicle in the area at the time of the killings, and possibly a motorbike.

Investigators found 25 spent bullet cartridges at the scene - a car park in the Combe d'Ire forest near Chevaline - while two mobile phones found in the al-Hilli's bullet-ridden BMW are being analysed by police.

Each of the four victims of the atrocity was shot twice in the head.

One theory is that shots could have been fired during a bungled armed robbery, with Mr Mollier being a witness to the crime.

But speculation about other possible motives, including a pre-planned attack by professional hitmen, remained rife.

Some media reports have suggested that Mr al-Hilli, an engineer who left Saddam Hussein's Iraq several years ago, was known to the security services and was put under surveillance by Metropolitan Police Special Branch during the second Gulf war.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said they could not comment. But it is understood there is no link between the deaths and any national security issues.

Mr Maillaud revealed the family had visited France a number of times before and it was not the first time they had been to Le Solitaire du Lac, a campsite in Saint-Jorioz they were staying at when the attack happened.

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