French Jew-Killing Jihadist visited Israel, Syria, Iraq and Jordan, Doubtful that Merah was paid his own way, "too many arms, too many trips, too much money"

The passport of the Toulouse Jew-killing jihadi, Mohammed Merah, showed that he visited Israel, Syria, Iraq and Jordan, a French newspaper reported. Robert Spencer suggests:

Maybe he was scouting out targets in his rage and hate against those whom the Qur'an designates as the worst enemies of the Muslims (5:82).

A former government minister observes below that it seems highly doubtful that Merah was paying his own way through the past few years: "too many arms, too many trips, too much money." So which Islamic group or country funded him? We want answers.

What is interesting is that the devout Muslim was on a US no-fly list. Something Muslim Brotherhood groups (i.e. CAIR) want very much to see an end to. Because, you know, no-fly lists are ....islamophobic.

"Toulouse shooting: Killer was on U.S. 'no-fly' list," from the Telegraph, March 22: (hat tip Jihadwatch)

Nationwide relief greeted the news that no police fatalities had been incurred in eliminating Mohammed Merah, 23, wanted in the killings of three French paratroopers, a rabbi and three children ages 4, 5, and 7 shot outside a Jewish school in Toulouse.

But the authorities faced growing criticism that it should have prevented a killing spree by a known fundamentalist who was the US no-fly list and had attended an al-Qaeda training camp.

Jund al-Khilafah, an al-Qaeda front organisation claimed responsibility the shootings in a statement posted on jihadist websites.

"On ... March 19th, our brother Yousef the Frenchman carried out an operation that shook the foundations of the Zionist Crusaders ... and filled their hearts with terror," it wrote.

"We claim responsibility for these operations," it went on, adding that Israel's "crimes ... will not go unpunished."

Mr Merah admitted responsibility for the shootings during long talks with negotiators, expressing no remorse other than he had not killed more people.

The scooter-driving gunman filmed all his murders with a mini-camera, and can be heard shouting "Alluha [sic] Akbar" and "You killed my brothers, I kill you" in two of the shootings.

He told authorities he had been trained by Al-Qaeda on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Claude Guéant, the Interior minister admitted that he had been under surveillance "for several years", adding he had never "shown any sign of preparing criminal acts" at the outset of the seige.

Increasingly damning evidence suggested France was aware Mr Mehar posed a threat.
French intelligence had previously alerted security services in Spain that Mr Merah was planning to travel to the Costa Brava to attend a meeting of Islamist activists, suggesting they considered him dangerous.

The warning said that he was probably on his way to attend a suspected Salafist congress.

The prosecutor said that he had been arrested by Afghan police in 2010 in Kandahar and handed over to US army troops, who put him on a flight back to France – a claim US military did not confirm on Thursday.

When questioned last November by French intelligence about his foreign journeys, Mr Mehar managed to palm off agents with photos, saying he had been on a "tourist trip".
His older brother, Abdelukar, 29, currently under arrest, had been in 2007 implicated in a Jihad network in Iraq but never charged.

Socialist Jean-Pierre Chevenement, a former defence and interior minister, said the killings were "a warning for services in charge of anti-terrorism", and questioned whether Mr Mehar was a "lone wolf", saying "too many arms, too many trips, too much money"....

Toulouse Jew-killing jihadist visited Israel Jihadwatch

Israel National News, March 23:Mohammed Merah, the terrorist who murdered seven people, including a rabbi and three young children, and who was killed by French security forces in Toulouse, visited Israel several years ago, it was reported Thursday.

Channel 10 News reported that the reason for Merah’s visit to Israel is not entirely clear, but it is believed he came to gather intelligence for his attack.

 

The Channel 10 report was based on a comment made by an American officer serving in Afghanistan to the French newspaper Le Monde. The officer told the newspaper that Merah’s passport had been stamped with entry to and exit from Israel.

 

However, the National Immigration Authority said on Thursday evening that an initial investigation found that Merah never visited Israel. Kol Yisrael radio reported that the National Immigration Authority said that the terrorist's name, as published in the media, was not found in the list of arrivals to Israel. The authority added that it is continuing to investigate the matter.

 

Channel 10 noted that there are conflicting reports about whether Merah was identified as an Al-Qaeda activist before 2010, which is when he allegedly visited Israel. The report noted that if he was indeed suspected to be an Al-Qaeda terrorist, then Israeli procedure would have called for him to be interrogated at the airport and to undergo a thorough security check.

 

It is unknown whether Merah was indeed interrogated or checked, the report said. The Israel Security Agency refused to comment on the issue and said that it was still being review reviewed....

Merah reportedly died when he was shot in the head as he leapt from his window trying to escape the oncoming police.