A 24-year-old student of Algerian descent suspected of carrying out a series of shooting sprees in France that have killed seven people has been named by police as Mohammed Merah.
French police said the suspect, who is believed to be responsible for killing four people including children at a Jewish school on Monday, has claimed he has al-Qaeda links.
French interior minister Claude Gueant said Merah had said he was fighting to "avenge Palestinian children."
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"This person has made trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan in the past... and says he belongs to al Qaeda and says he wanted to avenge Palestinian children and to attack the French army. He has links with people involved in jihadism and salafism," he said.
Police have arrested the man's brother at a separate location and have also brought his mother to the scene to help the negotiation.
Merah was caught after taking a scooter used at the school shooting to a garage, and through an email he allegedly sent about selling a motorbike.
According to ITV news, the father of his neighbour said Merah was in "trouble".
Reports suggests he has an uzi and kalashnikov.
The BBC reports he already has a criminal record. BFM TV, a French news Channel has claimed the suspect has links an Islamist group which has been banned in France, Forsane Alizza.
Merah called the broadcaster France 24 in the early hours of the morning, the network said.
He said he was connected to Al Qaeda, that what he did marked only "the beginning".
"Merah explained he was against the headscarf ban and was fighting against the French participation to Nato operations in Afghanistan,” said Ebba Kalondo, editor in chief of France 24, who spoke to the suspect, he said.
“The Jews killed our brothers and sisters in Palestine,” he said. The man was calm, talked articulately. He confirmed that all murders had been filmed and that the videos would be posted online.
France shootings
Israeli Zaka Volunteers wheel the body o(01 of26)
Israeli Zaka Volunteers wheel the body of Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, a victim of Toulouse school shooting, into an ambulance to be transported for the burial in Jerusalem on March 21, 2012. The bodies of 30-year-old Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, his sons Arieh, 5, and Gabriel, 4, and seven-year-old Miriam Monsonego who were shot dead at a Jewish school in France on March 19, arrived at Ben Gurion international airport ahead of a burial service in Jerusalem. (Photo credit: AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Israeli Zaka Volunteers wheel the body o(02 of26)
Israeli Zaka Volunteers wheel the body of a victim of Toulouse school shooting into an ambulance to be transported for the burial in Jerusalem on March 21, 2012. The bodies of 30-year-old Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, his sons Arieh, 5, and Gabriel, 4, and seven-year-old Miriam Monsonego who were shot dead at a Jewish school in France arrived at Ben Gurion international airport ahead of a burial service in Jerusalem. (Photo credit: AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Victims Of Ozar Hatorah Gunman Transported To Israel(03 of26)
In this handout image provided by the Zaka organization, members of the Zaka Organisation transport the coffins containing the bodies of the victims of the shooting at the 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school in Toulouse as they arrive from France at Ben Gurion Airport on March 21, 2012 near Tel Aviv, Israel. The bodies of 30-year-old rabbi Jonathan Sandler, his sons Arieh, aged five, and Gabriel, aged four, and seven-year-old Miriam Monsonego have been repatriated from the Toulouse school in France for funeral ceremonies which will be held today in Givat Shaul, Jerusalem's main cemetery. Police are linking the shootings with two separate attacks in Toulouse and nearby Montauban last week when three French soldiers of North African and Caribbean origin were gunned down by a man on a motorbike. (Photo credit: Zaka via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Victims Of Ozar Hatorah Gunman Transported To Israel(04 of26)
In this handout image provided by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe (L), Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon (C) look on as a coffin of one of the victims of the Toulouse school shootings is repatriated from France to Israel at Ben Gurion Airport on March 21, 2012 near Tel Aviv, Israel. The bodies of 30-year-old rabbi Jonathan Sandler, his sons Arieh, aged five, and Gabriel, aged four, and seven-year-old Miriam Monsonego have been transported from the Toulouse school in France where they were killed for funeral ceremonies which will be held later today in Givat Shaul, Jerusalem's main cemetery. (Photo credit: Israeli Foreign Ministry via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Victims Of Ozar Hatorah Gunman Transported To Israel(05 of26)
In this handout image provided by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe (2nd R), Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon (L) and family members of the victims stand beside the coffin of one of the victims of the Toulouse school shootings as the bodies are repatriated from France, at Ben Gurion Airport on March 21, 2012 near Tel Aviv, Israel. The bodies of 30-year-old rabbi Jonathan Sandler, his sons Arieh, aged five, and Gabriel, aged four, and seven-year-old Miriam Monsonego have been transported from the Toulouse school in France where they were killed for funeral ceremonies which will be held later today in Givat Shaul, Jerusalem's main cemetery. (Photo credit: Israeli Foreign Ministry via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Victims Of Ozar Hatorah Gunman Transported To Israel(06 of26)
In this handout image provided by the Zaka organization, shows coffins containing the bodies of the victims of the shooting at the 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school, being loaded onto a plane bound for Paris on March 20, 2012, in Toulouse, France. The victims of a gunman, who is still at large after killing four people at the Jewish school, are being transported to Paris before being flown to Israel. Police are linking the shootings with two separate attacks in Toulouse and nearby Montauban last week when three French soldiers of North African and Caribbean origin were gunned down by a man on a motorbike. (Photo credit: Zaka via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Victims Of Ozar Hatorah Gunman Transported To Israel(07 of26)
In this handout image provided by the Zaka organization, shows coffins containing the bodies of the victims of the shooting at the 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school, being loaded onto a plane bound for Paris on March 20, 2012, in Toulouse, France. The victims of a gunman, who is still at large after killing four people at the Jewish school, are being transported to Paris before being flown to Israel. Police are linking the shootings with two separate attacks in Toulouse and nearby Montauban last week when three French soldiers of North African and Caribbean origin were gunned down by a man on a motorbike. (Photo credit: Zaka via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Victims Of Ozar Hatorah Gunman Transported To Israel(08 of26)
In this handout image provided by the Zaka organization, coffins containing the bodies of the victims of the shooting are lined up at the 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school, on March 20, 2012, in Toulouse, France. The victims of a gunman, who is still at large after killing four people at the Jewish school, are being transported to Paris before being flown to Israel. Police are linking the shootings with two separate attacks in Toulouse and nearby Montauban last week when three French soldiers of North African and Caribbean origin were gunned down by a man on a motorbike. (Photo credit: Zaka via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy (R), fl(09 of26)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy (R), flanked by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (L), leaves Roissy's international airport after paying his respect in front of the coffins of the victims of yesterday's gun attack at the 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school, on March 20, 2012 in Roissy-en-France, outside Paris. The bodies of three children and a rabbi were to be flown on a military plane to Paris and then by commercial flight to Tel Aviv Today. France has launched a massive manhunt for the shooter behind Monday's school attack. He is suspected of being the same person who shot dead three soldiers in Toulouse on March 11 and in nearby Montauban four days later. (Photo credit: ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Victims Of Ozar Hatorah Gunman Transported To Israel(10 of26)
In this handout image provided by the Zaka organization, a member if the community emergency response team holds a bloodied garment, at the 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school on March 20, 2012, in Toulouse, France. The victims of a gunman, who is still at large after killing four people at the Jewish school, are being transported to Paris before being flown to Israel. Police are linking the shootings with two separate attacks in Toulouse and nearby Montauban last week when three French soldiers of North African and Caribbean origin were gunned down by a man on a motorbike. (Photo credit: Zaka via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Victims Of Ozar Hatorah Gunman Transported To Israel(11 of26)
Relatives and mourners carry the coffin of a gun attack victim from 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school following a ceremony, before they are transported to Israel for burial, on March 20, 2012 in Toulouse, France. The victims of a gunman, who is still at large after killing four people at the Jewish school Ozar Hatorah, are being transported to Paris before being flown to Israel. Police are linking the shootings with two separate attacks in Toulouse and nearby Montauban last week when three French soldiers of North African and Caribbean origin were gunned down by a man on a motorbike. (Photo credit: Gilles Bouquillon/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Victims Of Ozar Hatorah Gunman Transported To Israel(12 of26)
Floral tributes are left at the scene as relatives and mourners attend a ceremony at 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school, before the bodies are transported to Israel for burial, on March 20, 2012 in Toulouse, France. The victims of a gunman, who is still at large after killing four people at the Jewish school Ozar Hatorah, are being transported to Paris before being flown to Israel. Police are linking the shootings with two separate attacks in Toulouse and nearby Montauban last week when three French soldiers of North African and Caribbean origin were gunned down by a man on a motorbike. (Photo credit: Gilles Bouquillon/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Four Killed In Toulouse Shooting(13 of26)
This handout image, supplied by the website 'Hadrei Haredim' on March 20, 2012, shows three of the victims killed by a gunman in Toulouse, France. (L-C) Arieh, Jonathan and Gabriel Sandler were all killed in the shooting outside a Jewish school in the French city. Four people, including three children, were killed and others injured after a gunman opened fire outside a Jewish school as parents dropped their children off for morning classes. (Photo credit: Hadrei Haredim via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
(14 of26)
Mourners follow the hearse carrying the coffins of the victims, following a ceremony at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school where a gunman opened fire killing four people in Toulouse, southwestern France, Tuesday, March 20, 2012. A father and his two sons were among four people who died Monday when a gunman opened fire in front of a Jewish school in a city in southwest France, the Toulouse prosecutor said Monday. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) (credit:AP)
(15 of26)
Mourners follow the hearse carrying the coffins of the victims following a ceremony at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school where a gunman opened fire killing four people in Toulouse, southwestern France, Tuesday, March 20, 2012. A father and his two sons were among four people who died Monday when a gunman opened fire in front of a Jewish school in a city in southwest France, the Toulouse prosecutor said Monday. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) (credit:AP)
(16 of26)
Mourners follow the hearse carrying the coffins of the victims, following a ceremony at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school where a gunman opened fire killing four people in Toulouse, southwestern France, Tuesday, March 20, 2012. A father and his two sons were among four people who died Monday when a gunman opened fire in front of a Jewish school in a city in southwest France, the Toulouse prosecutor said Monday. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere) (credit:AP)
Nicolas Sarkozy(17 of26)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, center, with Education Minister Philippe Chatel, right, and their unidentified head teacher, left, with pupils of the Francois Couperin College in Paris, France, hold a minute of silence in their school, Tuesday , March 20, 2012, the day after a gunman on a motorbike opened fire Monday at a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse, southwestern France, killing a rabbi and his two young sons as they waited for a bus, then chased down a 7 -year-old girl, shooting her dead at point-blank range. It was the latest in a series of attacks on minorities that have raised fears of a racist killer on the loose. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Jacques Brinon Pool) (credit:AP)
Nicolas Sarkozy(18 of26)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, center, and Education Minister an unidentified teacher ,left, and Education Minister Luc Chatel, right, and pupils of the Francois Couperin College in Paris, France, attend a class in their school , Tuesday , March 20, 2012, the day after a gunman on a motorbike opened fire Monday at a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse, southwestern France, killing a rabbi and his two young sons as they waited for a bus, then chased down a 7 -year-old girl, shooting her dead at point-blank range. It was the latest in a series of attacks on minorities that have raised fears of a racist killer on the loose.(Photo credit: AP Photo/Jacques Brinon Pool) (credit:AP)
Nicolas Sarkozy(19 of26)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy , left, with Education Minister Philippe Chatel, right, with pupils of the Francois Couperin College in Paris, France, hold a minute of silence in their school, Tuesday , March 20, 2012, the day after a gunman on a motorbike opened fire Monday at a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse, southwestern France, killing a rabbi and his two young sons as they waited for a bus, then chased down a 7 -year-old girl, shooting her dead at point-blank range. It was the latest in a series of attacks on minorities that have raised fears of a racist killer on the loose. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Jacques Brinon Pool) (credit:AP)
(20 of26)
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, 2nd left, and his Prime Minister Francois Fillon, left, attend a meeting with representatives of French Jewish and Muslim communities at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday, March 20, 2012. President Sarkozy met the representative the day after a gunman on a motorbike shot dead four people in Toulouse, including three children. Sitting at right is France's Jewish central Consistory President, Joel Mergui. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Benoit Tessier, pool) (credit:AP)
Nicolas Sarkozy(21 of26)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy , center, with Education Minister Philippe Chatel, right, and their unidentified head teacher, left, with pupils of the Francois Couperin College in Paris, France, hold a minute of silence in their school, Tuesday , March 20, 2012, the day after a gunman on a motorbike opened fire Monday at a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse, southwestern France, killing a rabbi and his two young sons as they waited for a bus, then chased down a 7 -year-old girl, shooting her dead at point-blank range. It was the latest in a series of attacks on minorities that have raised fears of a racist killer on the loose. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, Pool) (credit:AP)
People cry and react before the funeral(22 of26)
People cry and react before the funeral convoy carrying the coffins leaves the 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school after a funeral ceremony, on March 20, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France, one day after the gun attack. The bodies of three French-Israeli children and a Jewish teacher killed in a gun attack began their journey Tuesday from the school where they died to their burial in Israel, an AFP reporter said. The bodies were due to be flown from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport later Tuesday for a funeral in Israel the next day. (Photo credit: PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
People cry before the funeral convoy car(23 of26)
People cry before the funeral convoy carrying the coffins leaves the 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school after a funeral ceremony, on March 20, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France, one day after the gun attack. The bodies of three French-Israeli children and a Jewish teacher killed in a gun attack began their journey Tuesday from the school where they died to their burial in Israel, an AFP reporter said. The bodies were due to be flown from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport later Tuesday for a funeral in Israel the next day. (Photo credit: PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
People follow the back of the funeral co(24 of26)
People follow the back of the funeral convoy carrying the coffins as he leaves the 'Ozar Hatorah' Jewish school after a funeral ceremony, on March 20, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France. The bodies of three French-Israeli children and a Jewish teacher killed in a gun attack began their journey Tuesday from the school where they died to their burial in Israel, an AFP reporter said. The bodies were due to be flown from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport later Tuesday for a funeral in Israel the next day. (Photo credit: PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Silent Walk In Tribute to The Victims Of Shooting In Jewish School(25 of26)
A woman lights a candle on Place de la Bastille as she attends a silent march to pay tribute to the victims of the Toulouse school shooting, during a night time vigil on March 19, 2012 in Paris, France. Four people, including three children, have been killed and others injured after a gunman opened fire outside a Jewish school in Toulouse as parents dropped their children off for morning classes. (Photo credit: Franck Prevel/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Silent Walk In Tribute to The Victims Of Shooting In Jewish School(26 of26)
Members of the Jewish community of Paris demonstrates s on Place de la Bastille as they attend a silent march to pay tribute to the victims of the Toulouse school shooting, during a night time vigil on March 19, 2012 in Paris, France. Four people, including three children, have been killed and others injured after a gunman opened fire outside a Jewish school in Toulouse as parents dropped their children off for morning classes. (Photo credit: Franck Prevel/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)