The French terrorist Mohammed Merah who was responsible for the terror attack on the Jewish school Ozar Hatorah in Toulouse had visited Israel – A senior American official in Kandahar confirmed to French newspaper La Monde on Thursday.
Under the headline ‘Mohammed Merah, an active member of the international jihadist movement’ the French newspaper attempts to describe the terrorist’s extremist actions and track his travels through Islamic countries.
It has already been reported that he visited Pakistan and Afghanistan and underwent training there, yet a "senior American official" revealed additional information about Merah’s movements.
The American official noted that stamps in the passport belonging to Merah, who was shot to death on Thursday after a lengthy siege on his apartment in Toulouse, indicate that he visited Israel, Syria, Iraq and Jordan.
According to the official, he also visited the Indian consulate in Kandahar in order to apply for a visa to India.
The specifics of his visit to Israel are unclear but the American official noted that it is quite possible that Merah sought to visit the West Bank. He added that Merah’s brother helped him get to Iraq in order to take part in Islamist activities.
Also Thursday a senior US intelligence official told CNN Merah, was included on the US’ travel watchlist and was forbidden from entering the US since he had taken part in al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, the leParisien newspaper reported.