Toulouse Gunman Merah To Be Buried In France As Algeria Denies Permission For Burial

Mohamed Merah, the al Qaeda-linked French gunman of Algerian descent, will be buried in France as Algeria has refused to accept his body.

The body of the 23-year-old killer, who shot dead seven people in Toulouse, France, will be buried at the Muslim cemetery in Cornebarrieu, an Associated Press report said.

Merah's father wanted to bury his son in Algeria and the body was brought to Toulouse airport on Thursday. The body was to be transported to Algiers by a late evening flight and his mother and sister were expected to accompany it.

However, Algeria denied permission to bury the body in the country, citing reasons of public order.

Merah was killed after a 32-hour police siege at his apartment, where he was holed up after killing seven people, including three Jewish children, a Rabbi and three soldiers, in two separate incidents.

Merah was born and brought up in France but his father is an Algerian national.

Merah's father has hired an Algerian lawyer to sue the French police over the death of his son, alleging that legal procedures were not followed by the police while they attempted to arrest him.