Toulouse: 'Siege Gunman Escaped Afghan Jail'

The suspected al Qaeda-linked gunman who is locked in an armed stand-off with French police was broken out of a Kandahar jail in a mass prison break by the Taliban, it has been reported.

Mohammed Merah, 24, is suspected of being the gumnan who murdered seven people in a killing spree that left three young children dead.

The man believed to be Merah has been besieged in a Toulouse apartment since 3am local time. Two police officers have already been wounded in attempted raids on the flat.

He has claimed he carried out the murders to "avenge Palestinian children".

The French national, of Algerian origin, is heavily armed - possessing an Uzi machine gun and a Kalashnikov assault rifle - and refusing to surrender. Read More