War of nerves

Police apparently had not had any contact to the man holed up in an apartment building in Toulouse since Wednesday night.

"There was no movement during the night. We hope he is still alive," Interior Minister Claude Gueant told RTL radio Thursday morning.

He said two shots had been heard during the night from the flat where 23-year-old Mohamed Merah has been since police launched their raid early the previous morning.

"Despite renewed efforts all through the night to re-establish contact by voice and radio, there has been no contact, no showing from him," Gueant said, adding that he still hoped Merah could be captured alive.

Officials want to ensure that the man can be brought to justice.

Police try intimidation

Special forces detonated explosions and repeatedly fired shots during the night in an attempt to tire Merah so they could capture him unharmed.
"These were moves to intimidate the gunman who seems to have changed his mind and does not want to surrender," said Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet.

Police negotiated with Merah for hours after he fired through the door as they tried to storm the apartment early Wednesday. They said he is armed with a machine gun and an assault rifle.

Authorities had earlier identified the suspect in the killing of three soldiers and four civilians as a self-confessed al-Qaeda militant who had spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He apparently has a record of petty crime.

Merah apparently confessed to police that he had shot dead three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday and three paratroopers in Toulouse and nearby Montauban earlier this month.

ncy/mz (AFP, Reuters, AP)