France: Police standoff with terror suspect enters second day

Toulouse, France: A standoff in Toulouse has entered its second day, pitting a holed-up suspected gunman behind an al-Qaida-linked killing spree against hundreds of French police working to arrest him. Police on Thursday are using used their advantages — numbers, firepower and psychological pressure — in hopes of wearing down 24-year-old suspect Mohamed Merah, who is in an apartment in the southwestern French city. Authorities say Merah has boasted about carrying out the shootings of three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi, and three French paratroopers in three separate incidents over the last two weeks. [caption id=“attachment_252252” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“A standoff in Toulouse has entered its second day, pitting a holed-up suspected gunman behind an al-Qaida-linked killing spree against hundreds of French police working to arrest him. AP”] [/caption] Elite police squads cut off electricity and natural gas into the building and set off sporadic blasts overnight — some that blew off the apartment’s shutters. Officials said it was a tactic aimed to pressure Merah to give up AP