Saad Al-Hilli, 50, was ambushed with his family
on Wednesday during a family outing in the French Alps
Each one killed with a single shot to the head: Family massacred in French Alps bore trademark of a professional hitman
- Remote location at car park near Lake Annecy would mean few if any witnesses to the atrocity
- Killer
could have been out of France within minutes of the murders on
Wednesday, possibly boarding a plane from Geneva within two hours
- He might also have known there were no security cameras in the area
- Saad
Al-Hilli, a Baghdad-born businessman, who lived in Claygate, Surrey,
was killed along with his wife Iqbal, his mother-in-law and a passing
cyclist
- His daughter Zeena, four, managed to survive ordeal
- Her
older sister, Zainab, seven, found near car in critical condition after
being hit three times over head with a blunt instrument
Three adult members of a seemingly respectable family, each murdered with a single shot in the head.
A
seven-year-old girl left with life-threatening injuries and her younger
sister badly traumatised after somehow escaping alive from a
psychopathic killer.
A cyclist who is believed to have witnessed the bloodbath mercilessly assassinated.
Such barbarity would be shocking in some of the world’s most lawless countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia...
But
for it to happen in a car park near the tranquil shores of Lake Annecy
in the French Alps makes the crime infinitely more difficult to
comprehend.
And, crucially, much more difficult to solve.
What
better location for a professional hit than in a remote area, with few
if any witnesses likely to see the atrocity, with quick road access to
airports in three countries – France, Italy and Switzerland, and even
further afield.
As French police launched an
extensive manhunt to find the killer or killers, investigators were
officially keeping an open mind about the motive for the crime and who
might have been behind it.
The
ruthless efficiency with which the murders were carried out suggested
strongly that Saad Al-Hilli, his wife Ikbal and the rest of his family
were specific targets, and the cyclist killed because he saw too much.
Pictures of the murder scene – in an
isolated forest car park, 2.5 miles from the nearest village – show how
the BMW was hit with automatic fire before the victims were finished off
at point-blank range.
Had Mr Al-Hilli and his family been
targeted in the UK, police would probably have had access to CCTV
footage and data from number-plate recognition cameras, in their hunt
for the killer’s escape vehicle.
Scroll down for video
But in Chevaline there has never been
any need for security cameras, another possible clue that the killer
may have carefully researched the best place, in terms of escaping
detection, to commit the crimes.
A
quick look at a local map shows he could have been out of France within
minutes of the murders on Wednesday, possibly boarding a plane from
Geneva within two hours.
Or
perhaps he elected to drive several hours across Europe. Several
witnesses reported seeing a car speeding away from the scene near
Albertville, in France’s Haute-Savoie region, close to the Italian and
Swiss borders, around the time of the attack.
No arrests were made in the immediate aftermath of the attack, nor did police report the discovery of any weapon.
Bullet-ridden: Police gather evidence from
the BMW estate where Saad Al-Hilli and his family was massacred by a
suspected assassin
Delayed reaction: Several hours after police
arrived on scene, Mr Al-Hilli's four-year-old daughter Zeena was found
alive huddling under her mother's legs inside the car
Crime scene: French gendarme police escort the car involved in the shooting of the British family away from the area
But
15 spent, automatic pistol cartridges were found at the scene. ‘It was
clearly an act of extreme savagery and it was obvious that whoever did
this wanted to kill,’ said French prosecutor Eric Maillaud.
If
Mr Al-Hilli’s family were deliberately targeted, police will want to
establish how the killer knew where they were. Did he wait outside their
campsite before ambushing them in the countryside?
The
Iraqi-born British businessman’s commercial activities and political
affiliations in his homeland will also be key lines of inquiry.
The bodies being taken away from the scene in a private ambulance escorted by police
Tragedy: French police on guard near the site of the brutal slaying
London link: The home of Saad Al-Hilli in Claygate, Surrey
But
French police, whose track record in investigating the murders of
British nationals makes uncomfortable reading, would be foolish to rule
out other possible explanations.
Already there has been speculation that the attack may have been a case of mistaken identity linked to drugs.
Another
theory is that shots could have been fired during a bungled armed
robbery, with the dead cyclist being a witness to the crime. Reports
suggest the same gang may have carried out previous attacks.
Another possibility is that the crimes were racially motivated, or that the gunman is mentally ill.
The French prosecutor described the carnage as being like something seen in a film.
In
most crime movies, the killer is finally brought to justice. If this
was a professional hit, it will be a serious challenge for the French
police to live up to that script.
See VIDEO in the Daily Mail of: British PM David Cameron and
French President Francois Hollande cow to do all they can..
6 September 2012
Shootings at Annecy France
by Patrick Jackson BBC News
French Alps Shooting: Three Bodies Found
In British-Registered Car And Another Nearby,
Young Girl Survives
You wouldn't have any hesitation letting your kids sleep out there”
Julie McMahonBritish expatriate in Haute Savoie
Annecy is a popular holiday destination
Residents have expressed shock and bewilderment at the shooting of four people, three of them believed to be British tourists, in a forest car park near the tourist destination of Lake Annecy.
British expatriate Julie McMahon, who runs a holiday business in Haute Savoie along with her husband Tony, told the BBC News website that holiday-makers came to the region precisely because it was "such a safe, nice place".
The mayor of Chevaline, the village nearest to where the victims were found, told French media he was mystified by such an "improbable" event.
"It feels like being on another planet," Didier Berthollet was quoted as saying by local newspaper L'Essor Savoyard.
A French holiday-maker at the camp where the murdered family had been staying told AFP news agency the event had "created a chill".
'Perfect area'
"This is the kind of place where you don't lock your doors, which is what makes it so shocking," said Mrs McMahon, whose company Family Friendly Skiing is based in Faverges, 6km (4.1 miles) from Chevaline.
Chevaline, she said, was a tiny hamlet where people only went to go walking. Her own children, like other teenagers, used the area for wild camping, she added.
"It is a perfect area for camping," she said. "You don't see people. It is quiet. You wouldn't have any hesitation letting your kids sleep out there."
While gun crime has been a growing concern in France's big cities, it has "not at all been an issue" in Haute Savoie, Mrs McMahon said.
At the same time, shooting is not uncommon in the area at this time of year because of the hunting season, she pointed out.
The worst thing about the news of the attack, initially, had been not knowing the circumstances.
"Nobody said there was a mad person on the road," Mrs McMahon told the BBC. "All we knew was that no weapons had been found."
She added that while the area was popular with Britons, many holiday-makers with children would have already left because of schools re-opening in the UK this week.
'Dreadful'
Mr Berthollet pointed out that the car park where the bodies were discovered lay in an uninhabited forest area 4km (2.5 miles) from the nearest houses.
Given the distance from Chevaline, local residents were not "overly concerned", he said. "It could have happened just as easily somewhere else," he added.
However, AFP reports a sense of shock pervading the Solitaire du Lac camp in St Jorioz, 8km from Chevaline, where the British victims had been staying,
"It's difficult to understand that something like this has taken place in a holiday site," said Frenchman Jean-Claude Guillamet.
"It's created a chill, one can see that people here are very moved."
Mary-Blanche Sibille, another camper, said: "It's dreadful, it's dramatic, above all for the children."
French Alps Shooting: Francois Hollande Says Police Will Do Their 'Utmost' To Find Family's Killer
By Golnar MotevalliBBC News
"..It will take years and years of trained professionals helping her...”
Emma CitronConsultant clinical psychologist
Police said four-year-old Zeena was found "terrorised, motionless, in the midst of bodies"
Zeena, the four-year-old daughter of a couple shot dead in a car in Annecy, was found by police eight hours after they arrived at the scene in Annecy, southern France.
She was concealed underneath her mother's body. She was physically unscathed, but the trauma of what she witnessed and the loss of her parents is likely to affect her for the rest of her life.
Zeena spent Wednesday night in hospital, with a nurse by her side all night.
'Shut down' response
According to Emma Citron, a consultant clinical psychologist who specialises in trauma in children, she would have experienced an acute stress reaction, which is a massive shock as a result of witnessing or being involved in a terrifying incident.
"It's a sort of shut-down response. It offers a degree of protection from having to deal with the the stimuli around you because you go into yourself and shut down," Ms Citron said.
"It allows the person some degree of coping in the most awful situations," she added.
Children of Zeena's age have a concept of life and death, Ms Citron said, but to a less developed extent compared with older children who would have a stronger grasp of the implications of parental death.
Police in Annecy said they spoke briefly to Zeena.
Annecy prosecutor Eric Maillaud said Zeena was found "terrorised, motionless, in the midst of the bodies".
Aware of the severity of the crime and the extent of the shock, police are likely to give Zeena some space, Ms Citron said.
The psychologist said they may take up to a week before trying to question the child.
While it is vital for police to get as much information as they can, and as quickly as possible, their technique in speaking with Zeena will have to ensure that she is not re-traumatised or faced with having to "re-live" the incident.
PTSD risk
"Psychotheraputically, it's better for [the child] to be amongst loved ones and have them nurtured and calmed, but of course the police have to have these vital clues and the police will be consulting with child psychologists on site," Ms Citron said.
There is a strong immediate psychological risk to Zeena of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and this could manifest itself in a number of ways, according to Ms Citron.
Recurrent flashbacks, reliving the incident in her mind like a film, sleeplessness and bed-wetting are among symptoms seen in children suffering from PTSD.
Ms Citron also said that, later in life, children who have witnessed violent events can also underachieve academically and feel they live in a "different sphere or world" from everyone else.
She may struggle in friendships and, Ms Citron said, traumatised children have tended to report later on that people do not understand them.
The loss of her parents, and the realisation of the significance of this as she grows older, will also complicate her trauma.
"It will take years and years of trained professionals helping her. She's at a very formative age where she's very dependent on her loved ones for her care and personality," she said, adding that having family members near to her will be crucial to her recovery and care.
"Even for a young baby, to go through such an awful thing traumatises them. With any developed concept of mortality, as they grow up, more and more, they realise all the loss as they piece it together," Ms Citron said.
Ultimately every child's experience of an atrocity is different, Ms Citron said, and very personal.
Zeena's ability to cope will depend on a number of factors, including her resilience and her genetic disposition.
"As she grows up it would be very much down to her own resilient personality, her genes, whether her family were or weren't copers - all of that has a part to play for how the future pans out for a child."
A multiple shooting in a car park near Lake Annecy has shocked and mystified people in the French holiday destination.
Here the BBC News website pieces together what we know of the crime that left four adults dead, a child badly injured and a little girl traumatised.
Where did the shootings take place?
In an isolated forest car park, 4km (2.5 miles) from the nearest habitation. The nearest village is the hamlet of Chevaline, located in countryside popular with walkers and campers near the lake in France's Alpine region of Haute Savoie.
Who were the victims in the car?
Saad al-Hilli, an Iraqi-born British citizen from the English county of Surrey, was found dead in his BMW car along with the bodies of his wife Iqbal and a second woman, described by French police as elderly. The elderly woman had a Swedish passport, French prosecutor Eric Maillaud said, while Mr Hilli's wife held an Iraqi passport. Their daughter Zainab, seven, was found shot and beaten. Another daughter Zeena, four, was found hiding under bodies in the car. While physically unscathed, she was "completely in shock and completely frozen", Mr Maillaud said.
Who was the fourth person killed?
Close to the car, the body of a cyclist was found. He has been named by French officials as Sylvain Mollier, a 40-year-old father of three who worked at a firm in the area. A second cyclist, a British ex-RAF officer, discovered Mr Mollier's body after coming across the BMW.
When did the crime occur?
The British cyclist arrived at the scene at 15:50 (13:50 GMT) on Wednesday 5 September. The car's engine was still running and he recognised Mr Mollier as a cyclist who had overtaken him on the road. After tending to Zainab, who was outside the car with horrific head injuries, the British man phoned emergency services at 16:00. When police arrived they did not see Zeena. She was only found at midnight when forensics officers opened the car.
Are there any clues as to the killer or killers?
Several witnesses reported seeing a car speeding away from the scene around the time the attack took place. No arrests were made in the immediate aftermath of the attack nor did police report the discovery of any weapon at the scene. However, 15 spent, automatic pistol cartridges were found at the scene. "It was clearly an act of extreme savagery and it was obvious that whoever did this wanted to kill," said Mr Maillaud. He would not say if the nature of the attack suggested the work of a professional killer but said the victims had been "targeted" rather than shot in a hail of indiscriminate fire.
Has any motive been suggested for the attack?
At a news conference on the day after the killings, the French prosecutor said investigators had hypotheses but these were "just conjecture at the moment". Newspapers suggest that the cyclist may have arrived while the attacker or attackers were still at the scene and was killed as a witness to the crime. Amid press speculation that the attack may have been a case of mistaken identity linked to drugs, police said the car park was not known as a haunt of dealers, regional newspaper Le Dauphine Libere reports.
Had the Hilli family been in France long?
They arrived on Monday and had been due to leave by the end of the week, Le Dauphine Libere reports. Other reports say they arrived at the end of August. They were staying in a caravan at a campsite, Le Solitaire du Lac, in St Jorioz, 8km from Chevaline. A woman at the campsite, whose name was not given, said she had seen the two women out picking apples with the two little girls earlier on Wednesday. "It was the first year that they had been seen here," she added.
Why did it take eight hours to find Zeena?
The police who sealed off the crime scene were under orders not to disturb the bodies in the car before a forensics team arrived, Mr Maillaud said. Given the gravity of the crime, officers were dispatched from Paris, he said. Furthermore, the first police at the scene did not know there were two children in the family group until a link was established with the campsite. "Firemen, technicians and doctors all looked into the car through the holes in the windows but none of them saw the girl," said Lt-Col Benoit Vinnemann of the local gendarmerie. A helicopter with thermal imaging was also used to inspect the scene but it did not detect Zeena
either.
What is the condition of the two girls?
Zainab was shot in the shoulder and beaten around the head, the French prosecutor said. "She was struck very violently and apparently has skull fractures," he added. She has been placed in an induced coma in a hospital in the city of Grenoble ahead of surgery. "Her life is not in danger but obviously she is no state to be interviewed," said Mr Maillaud. Zeena is "doing okay", he told reporters. As soon as investigators had opened the car door, she emerged, smiled and stretched out her arms. She spoke English but could not describe what had happened and was taken into police care.
Neighbour George Aicolina: "I was speechless and cried for a while"
Killings timeline
1. Family staying at Le Solitaire du Lac camp site in Saint Jorioz
2. 15:50 (13:50 GMT) - Cyclist discovers murder scene at car park
3. 16:00 - French police alerted
4. Critically injured eight-year-old girl flown to hospital
5. Midnight - four-year-old girl found alive in car
At the scene
Jon KayBBC News correspondentAt the campsite where the family were staying there is disbelief as police search their empty caravan. Other holidaymakers seem dazed as they watch such a beautiful spot turn into a major crime scene. The pool is empty. The bar closed. All is quiet.
"Where have all these police come from? We don't normally see them here" - the words of an Annecy resident watching officers investigating this murder. People here are not just shocked by the fact that it's happened in such a tranquil Alpine setting - but also by the nature of the killings.
The murders raise questions about whether this was a targeted assassination. There have been occasional roadside robberies here before, but no-one can remember anything quite so brutal and deliberate
Three of the four victims of a shooting in the French Alps were shot in the head, a French prosecutor has said.
A man, named by UK neighbours as Saad al-Hilli, 50, from Surrey, and an elderly woman were found dead in a car near Lake Annecy. A French cyclist, found nearby, was also shot dead.
Mr al-Hilli's wife was also killed, and a daughter, four, hid in the car for eight hours before police found her.
Another daughter was found near the car with serious injuries.
Police said a British cyclist, who had served in the RAF, found the adults and child on a forest road.
Mr al-Hilli's wife was named by neighbours in Claygate as Iqbal, and the couple's daughters as Zainab, seven, and Zeena.
Annecy prosecutor Eric Maillaud said: "It was clearly an act of extreme savagery and it was obvious that who did this wanted to kill."
The motive for the attack remains a mystery, he added.
An automatic pistol was used, and the killer "targeted" the victims rather than indiscriminately firing into the car.
Zainab, found shot outside the British-registered car, has been transferred to a hospital in the city of Grenoble where she has been placed in a medically-induced coma. She is due to be operated on again.
She was shot once, and had head fractures. "She suffered a violent attack," Mr Maillaud said.
Both girls are under police protection in hospital.
Authorities have not confirmed Mr al-Hilli's name, saying only that they know who owns the car, and that the details matched the passport used to book a nearby campsite.
However, they could not match the driver's face with those details yet.
Mr Maillaud also said Iraqi passports had been recovered, and that the older woman had a Swedish passport. Formal identification of all the bodies was ongoing.
The family had arrived on 3 September at the campsite and had been due to leave by the end of the week.
Mr Maillaud said the British cyclist was passing along a road and saw a BMW with the engine still running.
He saw the older girl collapsing in front of him, and helped her into a recovery position, then called firefighters. Mr Maillaud said "without doubt he saved the girl's life".
He then discovered the other cyclist, who had overtaken him earlier, dead on the road. He broke the driver's window of the car, and saw three bodies inside.
The younger daughter was concealed beneath her mother and was not found until midnight.
But Mr Maillaud said that at the time the police were not looking for any more survivors.
She was found "terrorised, motionless, in the midst of the bodies" after fellow guests at the campsite told officers the family had two children, Mr Maillaud said.
The girl spent Wednesday night in hospital, with a nurse by her side all night. Police said they had spoken briefly to her.
French President Francois Hollande has said "everything will be done" by French authorities to find the killer, the AFP news agency reported.
Speaking at a press conference in London, where he is attending the Paralympic Games, the president said France stood "in solidarity" with Britain.
Prime Minister David Cameron expressed a similar desire to find out what happened, saying: "Obviously the faster we can get to the bottom of what happened, the better."
Police in Surrey have said they are assisting the French authorities and liaising with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) following the shooting.
The British ambassador to France, Sir Peter Ricketts, said: "Clearly, this is a terrible, tragic event, a brutal murder, but also a traumatic experience for these two young girls."
Speaking in Annecy, he said consular staff had been with the youngest sister to give her support. "We are doing everything you would imagine we would do with a small girl who must be deeply, deeply traumatised, in a foreign country, not speaking the language."
He said staff were following up information about the family, but he said no relatives were expected from Britain at this stage. He also said he was satisfied that French authorities were doing a "fully professional job".
A neighbour of Mr al-Hilli, George Aicolina, said: "They were a very caring family and they always did things together. The father used to read to the girls quite regularly. It's an almighty shock.
"I was speechless [when I heard] and cried for a while. It's very sad to happen to such a young and lovely family.
"They were well established in the area, the two girls went to a local school. It's very difficult for me to talk about."
He said the young girls "played like kids do and it's very difficult to see how they will cope without a father and mother".
Lengthy delay
Many French web users have expressed incomprehension at the fact that the youngest girl was only discovered eight hours after police arrived.
"How can you know that the occupants of the car were dead if nobody opened the doors for eight hours?" wrote Maria on the website of the daily newspaper Le Monde.
It was not until 23:00 local time (21:00 GMT) that police found out from the family's neighbours at the campsite that the family had a second daughter, and launched a search involving a helicopter and police dogs, one report said.
Police had believed only one child was involved with the scene because only one child seat was found in the car.
The investigators said there were several reasons why the youngest girl was not found earlier, including that police were told not to disturb the scene before the arrival of forensic investigators; and they did not want to compromise the ballistics investigation by opening the car doors because some of the windows had cracks made by the bullets.
Earlier reports said a helicopter with thermal imaging was also used, but did not detect the girl, who may have been concealed under the bodies.
Officials at the scene also tried to look through the car windows, but could not detect any movement.
The dead French cyclist was identified as Sylvain Mollier. His wife contacted police after he failed to return from his ride.
A multiple shooting in a car park near Lake Annecy has shocked and mystified people in the French holiday destination.
Here the BBC News website pieces together what we know of the crime that left four adults dead, a child badly injured and a little girl traumatised.
Where did the shootings take place?
In an isolated forest car park, 4km (2.5 miles) from the nearest habitation. The nearest village is the hamlet of Chevaline, located in countryside popular with walkers and campers near the lake in France's Alpine region of Haute Savoie.
Who were the victims in the car?
Saad al-Hilli, an Iraqi-born British citizen from the English county of Surrey, was found dead in his BMW car along with the bodies of his wife Iqbal and a second woman, described by French police as elderly. The elderly woman had a Swedish passport, French prosecutor Eric Maillaud said, while Mr Hilli's wife held an Iraqi passport. Their daughter Zainab, seven, was found shot and beaten. Another daughter Zeena, four, was found hiding under bodies in the car. While physically unscathed, she was "completely in shock and completely frozen", Mr Maillaud said.
Who was the fourth person killed?
Close to the car, the body of a cyclist was found. He has been named by French officials as Sylvain Mollier, a 40-year-old father of three who worked at a firm in the area. A second cyclist, a British ex-RAF officer, discovered Mr Mollier's body after coming across the BMW.
When did the crime occur?
The British cyclist arrived at the scene at 15:50 (13:50 GMT) on Wednesday 5 September. The car's engine was still running and he recognised Mr Mollier as a cyclist who had overtaken him on the road. After tending to Zainab, who was outside the car with horrific head injuries, the British man phoned emergency services at 16:00. When police arrived they did not see Zeena. She was only found at midnight when forensics officers opened the car.
Are there any clues as to the killer or killers?
Several witnesses reported seeing a car speeding away from the scene around the time the attack took place. No arrests were made in the immediate aftermath of the attack nor did police report the discovery of any weapon at the scene. However, 15 spent, automatic pistol cartridges were found at the scene. "It was clearly an act of extreme savagery and it was obvious that whoever did this wanted to kill," said Mr Maillaud. He would not say if the nature of the attack suggested the work of a professional killer but said the victims had been "targeted" rather than shot in a hail of indiscriminate fire.
Has any motive been suggested for the attack?
At a news conference on the day after the killings, the French prosecutor said investigators had hypotheses but these were "just conjecture at the moment". Newspapers suggest that the cyclist may have arrived while the attacker or attackers were still at the scene and was killed as a witness to the crime. Amid press speculation that the attack may have been a case of mistaken identity linked to drugs, police said the car park was not known as a haunt of dealers, regional newspaper Le Dauphine Libere reports.
Had the Hilli family been in France long?
They arrived on Monday and had been due to leave by the end of the week, Le Dauphine Libere reports. Other reports say they arrived at the end of August. They were staying in a caravan at a campsite, Le Solitaire du Lac, in St Jorioz, 8km from Chevaline. A woman at the campsite, whose name was not given, said she had seen the two women out picking apples with the two little girls earlier on Wednesday. "It was the first year that they had been seen here," she added.
Why did it take eight hours to find Zeena?
The police who sealed off the crime scene were under orders not to disturb the bodies in the car before a forensics team arrived, Mr Maillaud said. Given the gravity of the crime, officers were dispatched from Paris, he said. Furthermore, the first police at the scene did not know there were two children in the family group until a link was established with the campsite. "Firemen, technicians and doctors all looked into the car through the holes in the windows but none of them saw the girl," said Lt-Col Benoit Vinnemann of the local gendarmerie. A helicopter with thermal imaging was also used to inspect the scene but it did not detect Zeena either.
What is the condition of the two girls?
Zainab was shot in the shoulder and beaten around the head, the French prosecutor said. "She was struck very violently and apparently has skull fractures," he added. She has been placed in an induced coma in a hospital in the city of Grenoble ahead of surgery. "Her life is not in danger but obviously she is no state to be interviewed," said Mr Maillaud. Zeena is "doing okay", he told reporters. As soon as investigators had opened the car door, she emerged, smiled and stretched out her arms. She spoke English but could not describe what had happened and was taken into police care.
France Shooting: Bullet-Ridden BMW Removed
Sky News - 5th September 2012
Police have removed the bullet-ridden BMW from the scene of a mystery shooting which left a British family dead in the French Alps. Detectives believe the gunman used an automatic weapon and may have been a professional killer.
They said three of the four people killed received bullet wounds to the centre of the forehead during the bloodshed near the village of Chevaline, near Lake Annecy, in the Haute-Savoie region. French President Francois Hollande, speaking at a press conference in London, where he was attending the Paralympic Games, said "everything will be done" to find the killer. The British husband and wife killed were named by neighbours as Saad and Iqbal al Hilli. Their two children, who survived the attack, were named as eight-year-old Zehab and four-year-old Zaina. Iraqi-born Mr al Hilli, 50, a skilled computer engineer from Claygate, Surrey, was found slumped over the wheel of his bullet-riddled red BMW estate with the engine still running. His wife and her mother, who has a Swedish passport, were found shot dead in the back.
Public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said a passing cyclist, a British former RAF officer on holiday, discovered the bodies and alerted emergency services.
He also found Zehab, who collapsed in front of him near the car. She had been violently beaten around the head and shot in the shoulder. She is now fighting for her life in an induced coma in a hospital in the city of Grenoble. Her sister Zaina was found alive hiding underneath the front passenger seat and legs of her mother - eight hours after the massacre. She has been admitted to another Grenoble hospital in "distress" and is receiving psychiatric care. Both girls, who go to school in Claygate, are being guarded by armed police. The body of a male cyclist - Sylvain Mollier, a father-of-three, from the nearby town of Ugines - was found near the BMW. It is thought the factory worker inadvertently cycled into the scene of the attack, moments after overtaking the British cyclist. Mr Mollier was shot in the head, as was Mr al Hilli and his mother-in-law. Mr Maillaud described the shooting as "horrific and alarming" and "a gross act of savagery" during a press conference in Annecy. Mr al Hilli had been working as a freelance engineer for Guildford-based Surrey Satellite Technology after fleeing Saddam's Iraq, neighbours said. He and his family had been staying in a caravan at a campsite popular with UK tourists called Le Solitaire du Lac, in Saint Jorioz, since Monday. It is believed their neighbours at the campsite alerted police when they appeared to be missing.
No weapons were found at the scene of the shooting, which happened at around 3.40pm on Wednesday. Fifteen cartridges were found near the vehicle. Only the windows had been shot through, leading police to speculate it may have been the work of a professional hitman. Stephane Bouchet, from local newspaper Le Dauphine Libere, told Sky News a witness two miles from the car park saw a car driving very fast away from the scene around the time of the shooting.
Post-mortems are due to be carried out on Thursday or Friday. There are 60 police officers involved in the operation and the nearby area has been sealed off as investigations continue. Surrey Police said it was assisting the French authorities and liaising with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
'I've got nothing to do with it': Brother of Iraq-born businessman
executed with wife and mother-in-law in front of daughters in French
Alps denies there was family feud over 'financial matters'
- Father named as Saad Al-Hilli, a Baghdad-born businessman who lived with his family in Claygate, Surrey
- He was killed alongside his wife Ikbal and her mother during caravan holiday to Lake Annecy, in eastern France
- The Al-Hilli's seven-year-old daughter, Zainab, is in a coma after suffering fractured skull and a bullet in the shoulder
- Her sister, Zeena, four, escaped unscathed after hiding beneath her mother's legs for eight hours
- Cyclist Sylvain
Mollier, 45, a father-of-three, was shot dead after disturbing the multiple killings
- British and French police are investigating whether murders were professional hit
- Mr Al-Hilli's brother denies family feud suggestions and says he has nothing to do with the killings
- Forensics officers examine 15 bullet casings to see if family was targeted by more than one assassin
- Police searching for man in dark shirt driving 4x4 that witnesses saw speeding away from the area
By
Peter Allen and Graham Smith
PUBLISHED:
17:55, 5 September 2012
|
UPDATED:
23:26, 7 September 2012
The older brother of the
British father murdered in the Alps will be questioned today by French
police about a possible family feud over a will.
Zaid
Al-Hilli was expected to be asked about an alleged ‘inheritance
dispute’ and ongoing quarrel after four detectives flew in from France
to find out what lay behind Wednesday’s bloodbath.
But
the 53-year-old businessman is not under arrest, is being treated as a
witness and has already denied any involvement in the slaughter of his
family to officers in Britain.
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Victim: Saad Al-Hilli, 50, was ambushed with his
family on Wednesday during a family caravanning trip. A family friend
(right) who knew Mr Al-Hilli from the age of 15 brings flowers to the
family home in Claygate, Surrey, this afternoon
Devastated: Two women, who identified themselves as family friends cry as they stand at the front gate of the Al-Hilli home
He walked into a police station near his Surrey home to reject any suggestions of a feud with his brother, Saad.
Today, three French detectives are
expected to put their questions to Zaid Al-Hilli via Surrey police
officers. They also plan to search his home, and his dead brother’s
house.
Public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said
yesterday that there had been an ‘inheritance dispute’ over the estate
of their late father Kadhim, who died about a year ago.
Mr Maillaud said: ‘It seems that there
was a dispute between the two brothers about money. This seems to be
credible information coming from the British police.
‘The brother will have to be
questioned at length. Every lead will be meticulously followed. What is
important is for us to listen to this brother procedurally.’
He said Saad Al-Hilli’s life would be
examined in detail. ‘His life, his job – I heard he was the owner of
three companies – all of that is the sort of thing that we have to find
out about in England,’ he said.
Properties in France, Switzerland,
Spain and Iraq were said to be at the heart of the ongoing quarrel
between Saad Al-Hilli and his brother Zaid.
The brothers used to run a technical
design company called Shtech together, but two years ago Zaid was
replaced as company secretary by Saad’s wife Iqbal.
Around the same time, Zaid moved out
of the £1million detached house in upmarket Claygate, Surrey, where his
brother and family lived, according to neighbours. Zaid owns a £290,000
semi-detached house in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, but is believed to be
living in Chessington, which is also near Claygate.
At a press conference yesterday, Mr
Maillaud said Zaid Al-Hilli had ‘spontaneously presented himself’ to
Surrey police on Thursday seeking information after hearing about the
killings on the news.
He went back again yesterday morning
after hearing about the brotherly ‘conflict’ on the news, said Mr
Maillaud, adding: ‘He said no, there was no conflict, there was no
dispute with his brother.’
He said Zaid was a ‘free man’ but would be interviewed as a ‘key witness’ as detectives try to solve the riddle of the murders.
Other inquiries will focus on Saad
Al-Hilli’s technical work and his links to Iraq, where his family fled
Saddam Hussein’s regime in the 1970s. Mr Al-Hilli was known to the
British intelligence services, who have taken a keen interest in the
investigation.
A finger points to a blood-spattered rock found by the murder scene today
The shocking triple murder has made the headlines around the world
Secluded: A journalist looks at the spot where
the Al-Hilli family car was found with three bodies, and a cowering
four-year-old girl, inside
Country lane: Reporters walk towards the tiny dirt lay-by where the massacre took place
Taped-off: Detectives prepare to remove the family car from the murder scene scene yesterday
Tribute: A woman hands over flowers and a candle to police at the Al-Hilli family home in Claygate, Surrey, today
Last night Zaid Al-Hilli’s brother-in-law, Damien O’Reilly, said: ‘There’s no way he is involved.’
Mr O’Reilly, 41, whose sister
Geraldine was married to Zaid until her death from ovarian cancer, said:
‘Zaid is the last person who could be behind this.
‘He’s a very decent bloke. When my
sister was dying from cancer he was hugely supportive and caring. He was
devastated by her death and is still coming to terms with it.’
Zaid and Geraldine had one child, Sean O’Reilly-Hilli, 28, a plumber who lives in the Walton-on-Thames house.
Mr Maillaud said up to three
detectives would be arriving in London this morning, where they will
liaise with Scotland Yard officers.
One is arriving today to deal with any diplomatic problems
which might arise.
Mr Maillaud said that each corpse was found with at least three bullets, and 'at least one bullet to the head'.
The prosecutor said he believed that more than one murderer was involved in the atrocity.
Speaking before a press briefing in Annecy, Mr Maillaud said the 'case
looks more and more like an ambush' and that more than one gunman was
likely to have been involved.
Mr Maillaud said: 'It seems humanly difficult that so many shots could
be fired by one man. Instinct tells us there was more than one suspect.'
He confirmed that a green 4x4 and a motorbike were the only two vehicles
seen by the unnamed British cyclist who reported the murders.
The prosecutor also revealed that Mr
Al-Hilli's four-year-old daughter Zeena, who survived by hiding under her
mother, had spoken to police about the attack, describing what Mr
Maillaud said was the 'fury' and 'terror' of a massacre during which 25
bullets were fired at the victims.
Iraqi-born Mr Al-Hilli, 50, was gunned down in his car alongside his dentist wife Iqbal, and her 77-year-old mother.
Mr Al-Hilli and one of the women were shot in the head along with a French cyclist who apparently stumbled across the attack.
The couple's children, Zeena and her
sister Zainab, seven, are apparently the only witnesses to the shootings
on an isolated road and are now under police protection.
Julian Stedman, Mr Al-Hilli's accountant, today said that his client had removed his brother Zaid from the company they set up
But Zeena had told
police she was with her mother and father when the attack happened but
she did not see anything because she 'dived under her mother's legs'
when the shooting began.
Her elder sister is in a medically induced coma to aid her recovery as painlessly as possible and give her body time to heal.
Mr Maillaud said the nearest CCTV cameras to the scene of the crime were 30kms away.
Instructing judges Michel Mollin and Christine de Curraize are now leading the enquiry into the crime.
The chief executive of a company Mr Al-Hilli worked for paid tribute to him this afternoon.
Dr Matt Perkins, from Surrey
Satellite Technology in Guildford, said he was deeply shocked and
saddened at the death of the mechanical design engineer, who had worked
as a contractor for the company since November 2010.
He said: 'Saad's colleagues will
remember him as an experienced and committed engineer who worked as part
of a tightly knit team.
'He was a personal friend to many of
our staff here. Saad will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with
his family and loved ones at this very difficult and traumatic time.
'We are a close family at SSTL and our staff are understandably very upset by this event.'
Eric Maillaud, the prosecutor leading
the investigation into the bloodbath, had earlier said that 'evidence from Britain'
pointed towards the brothers being involved in 'financial problems'.
'It seems that there was a dispute
between the two brothers about money,' said Mr Maillaud.
Saad Al-Hilli's accountant Julian Stedman
also revealed that Zaid had been replaced as secretary of Saad's
company SH Tech roughly two years ago by his brother's wife Ikbal, who
was also executed.
Zaid was
replaced around February last year, around the same time that friends
claim that he moved out of the families £1million family home in
Claygate, Surrey.
Mr Stedman said: 'Through Stedman and Co we have been acting for Saad since 2004.
'His
brother was company secretary which is a purely nominal role and Ikbal
replaced him as company secretary, it must have been a couple of years
ago.
'He never mentioned anything about a family feud.'
Neighbourhood in shock: Police officers stand guard outside the Al-Hilli family home in Claygate today
Zaid Al-Hilli's home in Kingston, Surrey. He
visited his nearest police station and 'presented himself spontaneously'
to officers 'as a matter of course' after learning of his brother's
murder
Bullet-ridden: Police gather evidence from the BMW estate where Mr Al-Hilli and his family were massacred
Delayed reaction: Several hours after police
arrived on scene, Mr Al-Hilli's four-year-old daughter Zeena was found
alive huddling under her mother's legs inside the car
Property in France, Switzerland, Spain
and Iraq were said to be at the centre of an alleged on-going quarrel between
Mr Al-Hilli and his brother, who lives with his family in
Kingston-upon-Thames.
Sylvie Lecoeur said that she witnessed a speeding car near the French Alpine murder scene
It came as French police today said they are looking for a 'man in a
black shirt' driving a Peugeot 4x4 seen speeding away from the
scene of the massacre.
The unidentified British cyclist who discovered the dead bodies on the
edge of the village of Chevaline shortly before 4pm has told detectives
he saw a 'green 4x4' and motorbike speeding towards the murder scene before his arrival.
A detective told French channel M6: 'He has a keen sense of observation. This could help us greatly.'
This is the first time that the possibility of an assassin using a motorbike has been raised.
A young woman who was also in the area has told police that she saw a
'white Peugeot 206 or 306' a few minutes later, along the same road and
heading towards the village of Horses.
She said it was being driven extremely fast by 'a man in a black shirt'
who had to swerve suddenly to avoid hitting her own car.
Peugeot
makes 4x4s in both the 206 and 306 range, leading to the possibility
that both witnesses saw the same car, despite the difference in colour.
More details have emerged suggesting that the Al-Hillis may have been targeted by more than one professional assassin.
Detectives revealed that three of the
four murder victims were hit by two bullets each - while a cyclist who
is thought to have stumbled across the scene of the carnage was hit five
times.
The fact that intense gunfire was heard
for less than 30 seconds - and it was so brutally effective -
strengthens the theory of experienced hit men being responsible.
Mr Al-Hilli,
50, was initially shot once in the forehead as he sat at the wheel of
the BMW estate car he had used to drive his family to a caravan holiday
to Lake Annecy, in eastern France.
On the move: French police escort the car in which the British family was murdered away from the area
Sealed off: A cyclist speaks to police blocking access to the road to La Combe d'Ire in Chevaline today
Hunt for clues: French police inspect a drain under the road to the murder scene at Cheverlaine near Annecy
Then a second 'coup de grace' bullet was apparently used to make sure that Mr Al-Hilli was indeed dead.
This is the classic modus operandi of
gunmen the world over who are contracted to kill people, whether working
for criminal gangs, terrorist groups, or security services.
Mr Al-Hilli, his wife Ikbal, and
her 77-year-old mother were shot twice through the car's windows, with
not a single bullet wasted.
Sylvain Mollier, a 45-year-old father-of-three who arrived at the scene by bike, is likely to have disturbed the
multiple killings, and thus would have made a more difficult target.
An investigating source confirmed to
French media that all those in the car 'received two bullets each',
while Mr Mollier 'was hit five times'.
The Al-Hilli's seven-year-old daughter, Zainab, suffered a fractured skull and a bullet in the shoulder.
Her four-year-old sister, Zeena, was the
only member of the family to escape unscathed after hiding underneath
her mother's legs.
It was to be a full eight hours before
police eventually found her following the murders, which took place just
before 4pm on Wednesday, suggesting that the gunmen also had no idea
that she was there.
A postmortem on the bodies is expected to take place later today.
Forensic
and ballistic experts are examining the 15 bullet casings found at the
scene. They hope to find out whether there was more than one weapon
being fired - and therefore if there was more than one killer - and
maybe even identify DNA samples.
Last night, a family friend, Zaid
Alabdi, 48, said there was a row centred around money and properties in
the UK, Spain and France following the death of Mr Al-Hilli's father a
year ago.
He said: 'They're a lovely family who
worked hard and had no enemies. This may well not be relevant but it is
the only problem I can think of in their lives.'
The Al-Hilli family lived in a £1million home in Claygate, Surrey.
London link: Police officers stand guard outside the Al-Hilli family home in Claygate this morning
'Bright kid': Mr Al Hilli was company secretary
at Swindon-based aerial photography company, AMS 1087, which is linked
to this accountancy business
Massive investigation: French police question local residents close to the spot where the massacre happened
One neighbour, Jack Saltman, fuelled
the mystery by saying: 'I know one little thing which I am not prepared
to speak about at the moment. He told me about a problem he had. I have
told the police what I know.'
And Julian Stedman, Mr Al-Hilli's
accountant, said: 'They were shot through the head so that sounds like a
professional killing, which is really very worrying.
'A casual killer would not do that. The reason for that – I haven't a clue.'
The tragedy being triggered by a family feud is just one theory that investigators in France and Britain are pursuing.
FRENCH POLICE 'SHOULD HAVE CHECKED FOR SIGNS OF LIFE', SAY UK FORENSICS EXPERTS
Forensic experts said the first job for police who arrived at the crime scene should have been to check for survivors.
But
it could be that the first officers called to the rural beauty spot in
the French countryside simply 'panicked' when confronted with the
horror.
In the UK, a
doctor would be called to certify death - doing so, in this instance,
could have alerted officers that the child was alive amidst the carnage
in the car.
Jim Fraser,
professor of forensic science at the University of Strathclyde, said the
first responsibility for officers confronted with such a crime scene is
to check the victims for signs of life.
It
has been known for victims even with gunshot wounds to the head to live
for hours and survive if they get emergency treatment.
He
said: 'The overriding responsibility to the first responder at a crime
scene, in the UK, would be to ensure that all individuals present are
accounted for, their health and welfare, with an initial but thorough
look at the crime scene.'
Prof Fraser said of such multiple death crimes: 'It's a pretty horrible scene - not for the faint-hearted.'
Forensic
experts say it is a fiction to think murder scenes are preserved in
pristine condition until they are examined by crime scene investigators.
Only after police have carried out their duty to preserve life and certify death do they 'freeze the scene'.
It also today emerged that Mr
Al-Hilli was known to the intelligence services. He was born in Iraq and
was put under Special Branch surveillance during the second Gulf War.
Neighbour
Philip Murphy said of the £1million property in Claygate: 'It was a
family house, it was an extended family house and he took it over when
his mother died ten years ago.
'I think his brother moved the last of his stuff out 18 months ago.
'Their
father had been living in Spain as it is warmer there but then he came
back for a little while and was living in the bedroom the brother had
been living in so he couldn't have been there then.
'Then the father went back to Spain and died about a year ago.'
Talking
of Mr Al-Hilli's links to the Middle-East, he added: 'I know he went
out to Baghdad a couple of years ago and sought out his old family home
as he still had the deeds, but he wasn't very impressed. It was being
used as a barracks by the military I think.
'Eventually he sold it on for pennies as it was worthless.
'He wasn't politically active in any way, he had opinions on things, but he was a moderate Muslim and a moderate socialist.'
With both children under armed guard
in hospital, pictures of the extraordinary scene in the forest near Lake
Annecy emerged showing the bullet-riddled BMW estate car. Spent
cartridges littered the area around it.
Mr Al-Hilli earned up to £28 an hour
as a freelance engineer and his CV reveals he worked on projects
including designing a 'plasma generator' for a company called Surrey
NanoSystems Ltd.
Before that he helped design a
satellite for Surrey Satellite Technology, based in Guildford, and ten
years ago he worked for another company engineering parts for the
'aircraft, military and medical industries'.
It is understood that Mr Al-Hilli has been known to British intelligence officials for around 20 years.
In 2003, during the U.S. and British
invasion of Iraq, officers working with the intelligence services
mounted a surveillance operation on his home for several weeks, a
neighbour who hosted them told the Mail.
The internet is awash with
speculation – impossible to verify – that Mr Al-Hilli may have been
working in some capacity in the spy world. He arrived in Britain in the
late 1970s and was educated to degree level.
Intelligence officers from the British
Embassy in Paris are said to have been at the scene of the murder hours
after it happened at 4pm (3pm UK time) on Wednesday.
They were tipped off by contacts in
the French Interior Ministry as soon as the identity of the car's owner
was confirmed.
Police inspect Le Solitaire du Lac campsite at Saint-Jorioz, where the murdered family were staying
Sealed off: Forensic experts have been examining the caravan for any clue into the killings
Sir Peter Ricketts, the British
ambassador to France, this morning said the elder girl was still
'seriously ill' but in a stable condition in hospital.
He said both sisters would be looked after by British consular staff until members of their family could be brought to France.
Sir Peter said: 'We're all determined to get to the bottom of this as soon as we can.
'Everybody shares the same determination that the perpetrators of this awful crime are brought to justice as soon as possible.
'This
is particularly violent and brutal, but also has this heart-rending
dimension of the two small girls. It's a unique case in my experience.'
Last night David Cameron described the
deaths as 'terrible', adding: 'I have spoken to the British Ambassador
in France and consular staff are working very hard so that we do
everything we can... and to find out what happened in this very tragic
case.
'Obviously the faster we can get to the bottom of what happened, the better.'
French President Francois Hollande pledged that the authorities would do their 'utmost to find the perpetrators'.
French police are facing growing
incredulity that four-year-old Zeena was left in the car with the
corpses of her family for eight hours, but justified it by saying they
did not want to disturb the crime scene.
Public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said she was 'terrorised, immobile, in the midst of the bodies'.
He said: 'We discovered the little
girl that nobody had seen, because she hadn't moved, completely in shock
and completely frozen.'
He said the girl's older sister –
beaten three times over the head – 'seems to be pulling through', though
she has a fractured skull.
He described the murders as an 'act of gross savagery'.
A British cyclist who had been in the
RAF stumbled upon the scene after originally being overtaken by Mr
Mollier a few minutes earlier.
The first thing the cyclist saw was
the bloodied figure of Zainab stumbling about in the road next to the
BMW, which still had the engine running.
Police said the motive for the attack remained a mystery but revealed there were signs of a vehicle braking at the scene.
Investigators are waiting for the green light from medical staff at Grenoble University Hospital to talk to Zainab.
Asked
again today whether he thought it was a professional killing, Mr
Maillaud would only say: 'They were people who certainly wanted to kill
people and they were not scared of taking a life.'
He refused to identify the weapon used, arguing that the police did not want to reveal everything they know to the killers.
VIDEO: British holidaymaker on a bike describes what he saw at the scene...
VIDEO: British PM and French President vow to do all they can to catch those responsible...
Terrified, the little girl cowered under her murdered mother's skirt. Why didn't police find her for 8 hours?
By Nick Fagge, Claire ELLICOT and SAM GREENHILL
When
police eventually prised open the rear door of the BMW estate,
four-year-old Zeena Al-Hilli was 'frozen stiff with terror' and cowering
under her dead mother's skirt.
Her first words as she was led away from the car were: 'Where is Mummy? I want my Mummy!'
But
after that instinctive outburst, it was difficult to coax any more
words from a child who by this time 'could not tell the difference
between the good guys and bad guys'.
Sombre: One camper said the atmosphere at the site was 'heavy, nobody is speaking'
Reported missing: The family were believed to have been staying at this campsite in Saint Jorioz
Last night there was growing
incredulity that a small child had been left inside the bloodbath of a
car for an incredible eight hours until midnight on Wednesday.
For most of that time, French police were actually standing yards away but had simply assumed everyone in the car was dead.
It was only when they interviewed
fellow holidaymakers at the campsite where the family were staying that
police realised they should have been looking for two girls after all.
They then found that Zeena, too young to understand what had been going
on, had pitifully clung to her mother's body all evening.
Her father and grandmother were also
dead in the car while her elder sister Zainab had already been airlifted
to hospital to save her life. But after all the 'noises and shouting' –
her words to describe the moment a hitman slaughtered her family –
traumatised Zeena had stayed completely silent, daring not move.
Zeena and seven-year-old Zainab – who
is thought to have been pistol-whipped in the attack – are the only
survivors of the bloodbath. In a hail of gunfire, the three adults were
summarily executed along with a passing cyclist with precision shots to
their foreheads.
After the alarm was raised by another cyclist, police
were on the scene within minutes, and found seriously-injured Zainab
bleeding near the car. She was airlifted to hospital in Grenoble for
life-saving surgery on her fractured skull.
Rural region: A herd of cows this morning walks
past the vehicles owned by the world's media that are parked on the side
of the road near the shooting scene
Killed: Police believe the cyclist was shot dead when he stumbled on the scene of mass murder
Giving more details of the murders
yesterday, French officials described the moment her little sister was
finally rescued hours later.
Public prosecutor Eric Millaud said: 'When
our detectives went into the car, they discovered a little girl, who was
frozen stiff and uninjured.
'She had stayed beside her mother's body for almost eight hours, and had not moved during all this time.
'She spoke a little in English, saying
she had heard noises and shouting, but did not say any more. She is
only four years old. She was taken away and put under protection
'She
could not tell the difference between the good guys and bad guys.'
Lieutenant-Colonel Benoit Vinnemann
justified the police's extraordinary failure to find Zeena sooner,
saying that they had not wanted to disrupt the crime scene.
They feared vital evidence would be lost if they examined the car before forensic experts arrived from Paris.
Because there was only one child seat
fitted in the BMW 5-series estate, they wrongly assumed Zainab had been
the only youngster in the car.
Local prosecutor Eric Maillaud meets the press
on the road leading to the scene - he today confirmed British police
will question Mr Al-Milli's brother
CALLS FOR GREATER GUN CONTROL IN FRANCE AFTER MASSIVE INFLUX OF WEAPONS FROM EASTERN EUROPE
Gun
control has shot to the top of the political agenda in France in recent
years because of massive influx of weapons from Eastern Europe.
Largely
un-policed border crossings with countries like Italy have seen
thousands of guns pouring into major cities over the past few decades
from countries like Serbia and the Ukraine.
This
has led to a huge increase in the number of criminals brandishing
weapons, especially drugs gangs and ones linked to the Italian and
Russian mafia.
Officially
two million members of the French population, including hunters and
sportsmen, are allowed guns, but they are strictly licensed.
But in 2010 a total of 2710 guns were seized by police – representing a 79 per cent increase on 2009.
A
parliamentary commission last year concluded that the fall of the
Soviet Union, and the end of the Balkans’ Wars, in the 1990s had let to a
glut of weapons, made of which had made their way to the west.
On
March 6, just five days before Merah committed his first murder, a bill
enforcing tougher penalties for those caught selling guns illegally
became law. It means that anyone now found guilty of gun trafficking can
get up to seven years in prison, and a fine equivalent to £75,000.
There
was outrage earlier this year when Mohammed Merah, a 23-year-old French
Algerian, went on shooting rampage around the south west city of
Toulouse which left seven dead.
Despite
having known links with terrorist groups linked to Al-Qaeda, Merah had
managed to easily get hold of an Uzi submachine gun, a Colt Python
pistol, a shotgun, and three .45-caliber pistols.
All
are thought to have been bought for a few hundred euros each on
France’s black weapons market. The current price for a Kalashnikov in
the crime-ridden Mediterranean city of Marseille is around £500.
Claude
Bodin, a conservative MP who co-authored the bill, said it aimed to
‘give the judiciary the resources to punish heavily all those who own
guns illegally and use them.’
The
Merah killings, and ones like the slaughter which has taken place in
the Alps this week, will now lead for calls for even greater
At one stage a helicopter equipped with thermal cameras flew over the BMW, but failed to detect the small survivor.
This is thought to be because she was hidden under her mother's body, which would still have been emitting some heat.
In fact, the penny dropped only when a
fellow holidaymaker at the lakeside Le Solitaire du Lac campsite told
police the family had two children.
Lt-Col Vinnemann said: 'Our role was
to preserve the crime scene. To search the car thoroughly would
have to lead to the loss of fundamental ballistic evidence.'
He said
that when the officers realised their mistake, three detectives were
helicoptered to the scene with others following in a car.
They arrived around midnight, and
'within ten minutes they had found the second young girl', he said. 'The
girl was found under her mother's skirt in amongst travel bags. She was
glad to see someone. She immediately asked where her family was. The
officers spoke to her in English.
'She is now being cared for in
hospital. Physically, she is doing very well.'
Officers are now
desperately hoping Zeena and Zainab will be able to tell them what
happened.
Yesterday tourists at the campsite where the family were staying spoke of their shock at what happened.
Dutch woman Sandy Rombout, 39, said the
Al-Hillis had arrived at the site on the shores of Lake Annecy at
around 4pm on Monday in their dark-red BMW, which had a mountain bike on
a roof rack.
'They had a small caravan and pitched a large tent to one side and a second tent at the back,' she said.
'They seemed like a normal nice
family. The kids were playing outside the caravan and the dad came out
and was showing the younger one how to ride her bike.
'They were very friendly and said
hello to people. We saw them sitting in their tent and also having a
barbecue outside at night.'
Another Dutch visitor said the family
seemed to have problems with their car because every day he saw the
father pumping air into the right-hand rear tyre of the BMW.
He said the grandmother had been
picking fallen apples and giving them to the children. 'They were very
friendly and the children played with the other kids in the play area. I
heard them speaking English outside the caravan but they also spoke
what I thought was Arabic inside.'
British cyclist saved battered daughter's life
By Nick Fagge
An
RAF veteran and keen cyclist almost certainly saved the life of
seven-year-old Zainab in the moments after the forest murders.
The
Briton was following a popular cycling route around the lake and into
the surrounding countryside when he came across the horrific scenes near
the village of Chevaline.
The
unidentified man, who also provided police with vital evidence of
vehicles leaving the scene, was described as a hero. Prosecutor Eric
Maillaud said: 'He should be congratulated on his swift actions.'
Tourist destination: Lake Annecy in France's Haute-Savoie region is a magnet for British holidaymakers
The cyclist, who has a holiday home
in the area, noticed the British-registered BMW estate in the forest car
park and went to investigate.
He discovered the engine was running
before he spotted a girl near the front of the vehicle fall to the
ground. He immediately put her in the recovery position and called the
emergency services from his mobile phone at 3.48pm on Wednesday.
But he grasped the full extent of the horror only after he smashed the driver's side window to reach in and turn off the engine.
This was when he saw the bodies – the
man at the steering wheel and two women in the back – two shot in the
face. Then he saw a cyclist slumped on the ground near his bike, also
shot dead.
This same man had overtaken him only
moments earlier on his bike ride.
Lt Col Benoit Vinnemann of the
Chambery gendarmes, said: 'The main witness, a cyclist who discovered the
grisly scene, said he was overtaken by another cyclist on the climb
that leads to the parking lot where the shooting took place.
'Arriving there, he found the cyclist
on the ground with gunshot wounds near a car. In the vehicle, a man and
two women, has also been shot.
'On the other side of the car, a
child of six-to-eight years old was alive. He placed her in the recovery position
until help arrived. She had been very badly beaten.'
Idyllic: The attack took place close to Doussard, which is hugely popular with British tourists during the summer months
Lt-Col Vinnemann said that the Briton
had seen 'various cars leaving the scene including a 4x4'.
Prosecutor
Maillaud said the ordeal of what the RAF man had witnessed had left him
in 'a great deal of shock'.
Peter Ricketts, the British
Ambassador to France, said: 'He appears to have been extremely
professional. If he needs any support we are here to help.'
The murdered French cyclist, Sylvain
Mollier, 45, was a father-of-three from nearby Ugine. He was on
paternity leave from his job at a company producing stainless steel
products.
His wife alerted police when he
failed to return home from his bike ride. Prosecutor Maillaud said: 'It
would appear he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
Zainab and her four-year-old sister Zeena were yesterday under armed guard at Grenoble University Hospital.
Following the attack, in which Zainab
is believed to have been pistol-whipped, doctors induced a coma but she
is believed to be out of danger and her condition has stabilised. Zeena
is receiving psychiatric care.
Chilling echo of Rachel Nickell case
By MICHAEL SEAMARK
Chilling echo: Rachel Nickell, who was brutally murdered on Wimbledon Common
The ordeal of four-year-old Zeena
Al-Hilli has chilling echoes of the Rachel Nickell murder, when her son
was left clinging to her body.
Alex Hanscombe was a month short of his third birthday when Miss Nickell was killed in front of him on Wimbledon Common in 1992.
The little boy, covered in blood, was found by a passer-by clinging to her, crying: 'Get up, mummy.'
Miss
Nickell, 23, was stabbed 49 times and sexually assaulted by paranoid
schizophrenic and serial rapist Robert Napper as she walked with Alex
and their dog, Molly.
In
an interview in the Daily Mail last year Alex, 23, said: 'You don't
remember everything from when you are small, but you remember the big
things – those that can change your life.
'I
clearly remember walking in the park with my mother and Molly and being
pushed over by a man, who then attacked my mother. I knew something bad
was happening.
'I saw the knife in his hand and when I saw her lying on the ground covered in blood, I realised the consequences of that act. I wasn't quite three but, even so, I knew my mother was never coming back.'
Alex's
father Andre took his son to France, then on to Spain, to escape the
'goldfish bowl' of public attention. He credits his father with giving
him the security and protection he needed as he struggled to adapt to
the loss of his mother.
Alex
said: 'I have never been back to Wimbledon Common and I don't visit my
mother's grave. If you are living in the past or the future it means you
are not living in the moment.'
Alex, a talented guitarist who studied at music school, 'forgave' his mother's killer even before he knew who he was. 'Until you forgive, you can never move on with your life,' he said.
'I
don't feel damaged by what happened. I had my mum for the first few
years of my life – the most important ones – and being angry or upset
isn't the way to go.'
Video: French police investigate family's campsite...
He fled Iraq as a boy, settled in Surrey and was spied on by the
Special Branch: The extraordinary life of the engineer victim at the
centre of the Alps shooting
- Officers
thought to be from Special Branch maintained constant surveillance on
the aeronautical engineer and his family in 2003, said neighbour
- Any operation on the family would almost certainly have been backed up by bugging devices within their detached home
- Saad Al-Hilli's apparent family links to Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'ath party in Iraq may be of significance
By
Arthur Martin, Tom Kelly and Lucy Osborne
PUBLISHED:
22:53, 6 September 2012
|
UPDATED:
16:51, 7 September 2012
British police were said to have spent several weeks tracking the movements of Saad Al-Hilli at the start of the last Gulf War
Stationed on a driveway just yards
from their target's £1million home, British police were said to have
spent several weeks tracking the movements of Saad Al-Hilli at the start
of the last Gulf War.
Officers
thought to be from Special Branch maintained constant surveillance on
the aeronautical engineer and his family, regularly following Mr
Al-Hilli – who fled Iraq as a boy – and his brother whenever they drove
off.
Last night Philip
Murphy, a neighbour in the wealthy village of Claygate, Surrey, recalled
how police asked if they could use his driveway to spy on the massacre
victims' mock-Tudor house.
The retired finance director said: 'I watched them from the window and they were watching Mr Al-Hilli and his brother.
'I thought they were from Special Branch. They would sit there all day in their parked car just looking at the house.
'When
Mr Al-Hilli came out and drove off, they would follow him. It was all
very odd. I never told the family they were being watched.'
The surveillance happened as the invasion of Iraq by US and British forces began in March 2003.
Any operation on the family would almost certainly have been backed up by bugging devices within their detached home.
Last
night it remained unclear why a surveillance team would be sent to
watch a man who, on the outside at least, was a respected engineer.
The home of murdered aeronautical engineer Saad Al Hilli, in Claygate, Surrey, was under police guard yesterday
Mr Al-Hilli, 50, a keen cyclist and
badminton player, worked on a freelance basis for a satellite and
aerospace technology company in Guildford.
He
also owned a computer design company called SHTECH Ltd, which was
formed in 2001, and was the company secretary for a Wiltshire-based
aerial photography company in Swindon.
The dead man's apparent family links to Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'ath party in Iraq may be of significance.
A
close friend told how Mr Al-Hilli's father Kadhim, a former factory
owner, and mother Fasiha fled Baghdad in the late 1970s. The friend told
how Mr Al-Hilli's father had fallen out with the Ba'ath party and was
forced to flee the country.
It
was during this time that Saddam Hussein became powerful in Iraq before
becoming its leader in 1979. Mr Al-Hilli came to Britain as a teenager
and was educated at Pimlico comprehensive school in central London where
he took O- and A-levels, specialising in maths, physics and technical
drawing.
Last night Philip Murphy, a neighbour in the wealthy village recalled how police asked if they could use his
driveway to spy on the massacre victims' mock-Tudor house
He later took a degree in
mechanical engineering and a computer qualification. His CV reveals that
he was comfortable with using several software packages and had a
string of jobs in the engineering field for the past 20 years. He became
a British citizen in 2002.
Yesterday
Jack Saltman, another neighbour, said Mr Al-Hilli had told how he was
grappling with a 'personal problem' on August 29, the day the family
left for France.
'He told
me something about a problem he had,' Mr Saltman said. 'I told the
police that I knew what this problem was but I still haven't been able
to speak to them about it.
'I've known about it for several
months now. I knew he had family in Iraq. He did say he was worried
about their safety. He came around to see me the night before he went
and asked me to keep an eye on the house. He wasn't particularly
stressed. He was looking forward to taking the kids to France again.'
Mr Saltman declined to reveal the nature of the 'personal problem'.
Other neighbours in Claygate described Mr Al-Hilli as a devoted family man who 'had no enemies'.
George
Aicolina said: 'This doesn't add up. He's no Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
I very much doubt the Establishment would want to get rid of him.
It remains unclear why a
surveillance team would be sent to watch a man who, on the outside at
least, was a respected engineer
'Every time I had a problem, I would go to him. He was a very clued-up person and a precise man.'
Mr Al-Hilli met his future wife Ikbal ten years ago while on holiday in Dubai.
The
couple married a year later in Surrey. Mrs Al-Hilli, an Iraqi who
trained as a dentist in Sweden, then moved into her husband's home in
Claygate. There were just six people at their register office wedding in
Weybridge and Mr Al-Hilli once wrote on the Friends Reunited website:
'I am very happily married with a seven-month-old daughter that has me
wrapped around her little finger already.'
He
recently sold his beloved Suzuki Bandit motorbike, writing ruefully in
the for sale advert: 'Unfortunately it has to go as it is hardly used
now with kids on the scene.'
Zainab
was born in 2005 and attends nearby Claygate Primary School. Her
younger sister Zeena was due to start in the 'reception year' of the
same school next week.
The
family loved travelling across Europe in their caravan and were
understood to own a property in the Dordogne region of south-west
France.
On this occasion,
Mr Al-Hilli told neighbours how the family were going on a
spur-of-the-moment two-week holiday to 'get some sunshine and cure his
sore back'.
French police guard the road to the murder scene
at Cheverlaine near Annecy in the Haute-Savoie region of south-eastern
France where the victims of a quadruple murder were discovered
Mr
Aicolina said: 'He met his wife in Dubai. He went there on holiday and
he met her there. It was a great love affair. She was Iraqi by origin
but her parents live in Sweden. She was practising dentistry in the
Middle East and they met by chance I think.
'They were very, very close and loved the girls very much – a happy loving family, very caring.
'He was a nice neighbour. Bad things always happen to the wrong people.'
Julian Stedman, 67, who was Mr Al-Hilli's accountant, insisted his client was 'straight up'.
'I have been to the house quite a few times and had tea there, Middle Eastern style,' he said.
'I
have known Saad, his wife Ikbal and his father as well. Saad and I had
talks possibly once a week and longer ones once every month.
Police investigate the caravan of the shooting victims at Le Solitaire du Lac camp site yesterday
'Saad
is very much a family man. He was very much in love with his wife and
his daughters. He adores them. He is a very kind and gentle person.
'I have had a tremendous shock. He never talked about what he did in Iraq.
'I
never thought something of this kind would happen to him and his
family. I am very saddened – especially for the little girls who have
been left behind.
'He was a straight-up guy. There was never any suggestion that he might be up to no good. His accounts were perfect.'
Neighbour
Lorna Davey added: 'It's shocking. I can't believe it. They were just
like everybody else – very friendly and with two sweet little girls. The
family was very westernised. There was no hint of an accent.'
See Daily Mail VIDEO: British PM and French President vow to do all they can...
See Dail Mail Video: Scene of the murders and British tourist reaction
How I killed Bin Laden: The first amazing Navy SEAL account of how the world's most wanted terrorist was shot dead in front of his wives and petrified children
By Sharon Churcher
PUBLISHED: 22:38, 1 September 2012
The full extraordinary story of the assassination of Osama Bin Laden has been revealed for the first time by a member of the elite team that killed the arch terrorist in his secret lair in Pakistan.
Bin Laden was shot in the head by a ‘point man’ from the crack US Navy Seals unit as the Al Qaeda leader peered out through his narrowly-opened bedroom door.
Bursting into his room, the Seals then fired more rounds into his body as he lay on the floor in his death throes and as two of his wives wailed beside him.
The gruesome last moments of the 9/11 mastermind are revealed in a book by retired Seal Matt Bissonnette who took part in the raid and made sure Bin Laden was dead.
Click here for video
The Navy SEAL Team 6 member who used the pseudonym Mark Owen to write No Easy Day
Former Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette talking to US TV show 60 Minutes this week about the Osama bin Laden Pakistan raid which he claims to be part of. CBS said they disguised his appearance for his safety
But the minute-by-minute account of the heart-stopping, top-secret raid has infuriated Pentagon lawyers who are demanding that its launch next week is cancelled.
Bissonnette, 36 – who uses the pen-name Mark Owen – is accused of breaching a secrecy commitment that he signed when he left active duty last April. And it has incensed Islamic fundamentalists, who have posted online death threats against the author.
Owen’s detailed account in his book, No Easy Day, tells how, on a moonless night on May 1, 2011, 24 US Navy Seals left their base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, for Bin Laden’s one-acre walled compound in Abbottabad.
The Seals, who were to operate in teams of three, travelled in two Black Hawk helicopters.
They knew that, as well as the terror chief, they could expect to find at the compound Khalid, one of Bin Laden’s sons, and Ahmed al-Kuwaiti and his brother Abrar al-Kuwaiti, who had acted as couriers for Bin Laden.
Owen tells how the mission soon hit difficulties when the plan to ‘fast-rope’ the Seals from one of the helicopters into the compound had to be rapidly revised when one of the Black Hawks – with Owen inside – crash landed inside the courtyard.
Target: A member of Seal Team Six shot and killed Osama bin Laden during the elite squad's daring raid of his compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan
The other Black Hawk, which was supposed to fast-rope its passengers on to the roof of the main building in the compound, dropped them outside after seeing the crash. They were let inside by their shaken but uninjured comrades.
According to Owen’s book, they had 30 minutes to complete the mission based on the amount of fuel the helicopters had been carrying.
Owen says his team headed towards a guesthouse in the compound where they knew Ahmed al-Kuwaiti lived with his family. They also knew that the occupants had heard them coming.
The guesthouse was in darkness and had a set of metal double doors with windows at the top.
Owen describes kneeling at the side of the door while he attached an explosive charge. As one of his team headed towards the stairs that led to the roof of the guesthouse, AK-47 rounds from inside shattered the glass above the door, narrowly missing him and showering him in glass.
‘The first rounds always surprise the s*** out of you,’ he writes. Will, another member of Owen’s team, yelled in Arabic for al-Kuwaiti to come out while Owen returned fire. The door started to open and a woman called out.
Owen says that in the green glow of their night-vision goggles, the Seals could make out the figure of a woman clutching something in her arms. The first suspicion was that it was a bomb.
Owen recalls in his account how he started applying pressure to his trigger. Lasers on the Seals’ guns targeted the woman’s head – she could be dead in a second.
However the bundle was a baby. Al-Kuwaiti’s wife, Mariam, emerged with the infant and three more children behind her. Owen kept his weapon trained on her as she told them that Al-Kuwaiti was dead.
Owen says he spotted a pair of feet lying in the doorway of a bedroom and that he shot the body of al-Kuwaiti several times to make sure. With the guesthouse secured, the Seals sprinted to the main compound. Bin Laden’s house was split into a duplex and his family lived on the second and third levels and had their own private entrance.
A team led by a Seal referred to in the book as Tom was to clear the first level, according to Owen. Again, the building was dark but the soldiers’ night-vision goggles revealed a long hallway with two doors opening off on each side.
The point man – the leading Seal – spotted a man’s head sticking out of the first room on the left. The point man shot him and he disappeared back into the room. When the team reached the doorway the man, later identified as Abrar al-Kuwaiti, was writhing on the floor. The Seals opened fire on him. Al-Kuwaiti’s wife Bushra, who jumped in the way to shield him, was also killed.
Owen says a woman and several children were huddled in the corner crying. An AK-47 was found in the room and Tom unloaded it while the rest of the team searched the remaining rooms.
After one of the US troops blew up an iron gate blocking access to the second level, the Seals started filtering up a spiral staircase punctuated by small landings. When Owen reached the second level, he could see a body splayed out on its back on the landing above, between the second and third levels. One of the Seals had shot Khalid, one of Bin Laden’s sons, who had probably been living on the second floor.
Commando: A photo purported to be of Matt Bissonnette was published by Business Insider on Thursday
By now, Owen writes, Seals were queuing up behind Owen on the staircase, and the second-level hallway already had sufficient troops to search and clear it, so he continued to the third level, up steps slick with blood and passing Khalid’s unused AK-47 propped up on a step.
‘We had planned for more of a fight,’ he writes. ‘For all the talk about suicide vests and being willing to shed blood for Allah, only one of the al-Kuwaiti brothers got off a barrage.’
He describes how, as he and his team slowly ascended the narrow stairwell, his ears strained to hear footsteps or the sound of a round being chambered. He was less than five steps from the top of the staircase when he heard shots.
He writes: ‘BOP. BOP. The point man had seen a man peeking out of the door on the right side of the hallway about ten feet in front of him. I couldn’t tell from my position if the rounds hit the target or not. The man disappeared into the dark room.’
They cautiously approached the room where they found two women, hysterically crying and standing over a man lying at the foot of a bed. The younger of the two women rushed at the point man who grabbed them both and herded them into a corner. Owen comments that had the women been wearing suicide vests, this action would have cost the soldier his life but saved those of his colleagues.
According to No Easy Day, the fallen man, wearing a white sleeveless T-shirt, tan trousers and a tan tunic, had been shot in the right side of his head.
‘Blood and brains spilled out of the side of his skull,’ writes Owen. ‘In his death throes, he was still twitching and convulsing.’
Owen and another Seal shot more rounds into his chest until he was motionless.
At least three children sat stunned in the corner of the room as the commandos cleared two small rooms just off the bedrooms. Other Seal teams cleared the rest of the third level until it was declared secure.
Guard: A policeman keeps guard outside the gates of the compound where the Al Qaeda leader was killed
Owen and his comrades then examined the body.
He says: ‘The man’s face was mangled from at least one bullet wound and covered in blood. A hole in his forehead collapsed the right side of his skull. His chest was torn up from where the bullets had entered his body.
He was lying in an ever-growing pool of blood. As I crouched down to take a closer look, Tom joined me.
‘ “I think this is our boy,” Tom said.’
Owen writes that Tom did not want to report over the radio that this was Bin Laden because he knew that call would be rapidly relayed to Washington where President Obama was listening. The Seals wanted to be sure first.
The dead man was the correct height and looked like the composite photos the Seals had been given. They wiped the blood from his face using a blanket from the bed and he looked more familiar but younger than expected. It transpired his beard had been dyed.
Owen says he took photos of Bin Laden’s full body and then his head. ‘Pulling his beard to the right and then the left, I shot several profile pictures.’
Watching: In this undated image from video seized from bin Laden's compound, the Al-Qaeda chief watches a TV programme showing an image of President Obama
Tension: The raid of bin Laden's Abottabad compound was watched by President Obama and his closest advisers in the Situation Room of the White House
He asked his colleague to hold Bin Laden’s ‘good eye’ open. ‘He reached down and peeled back the eyelid, exposing his now lifeless brown eye. I zoomed in and shot a tight photo of it.’
Meanwhile other Seals were collecting computers, videos and notebooks and a team was preparing to blow up the crashed Black Hawk.
The remaining Black Hawk and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, that had set up a forward refuelling point 15 minutes from the compound, and was carrying a ‘quick reaction force’ of additional troops, were circling the compound, using up precious fuel. Time was pressing.
Owen says a comrade, ‘Walt’, took DNA samples by dipping a swab in Bin Laden’s blood and used another to swab his mouth.
He tried jabbing a spring-loaded syringe provided by the CIA to get a marrow sample from Bin Laden’s thigh but the needle did not work and he gave up after several attempts.
Owen says two sets of DNA samples and two sets of photographs were needed so that if one of the helicopters was shot down on its way back to Jalalabad, one set of evidence would survive.
Meanwhile, Seals were trying to get confirmation from Bin Laden’s wife, who had been wounded in the ankle, that the dead man was the Al Qaeda leader. She gave a series of aliases for him such as ‘the sheikh’.
Owen recalls how one Seal then approached the children outside on the balcony. ‘They were all sitting silently against the wall. Will knelt down and asked one of the girls, “Who is the man?”
‘The girl didn’t know to lie.’
‘ “Osama bin Laden.”
‘Will smiled.’
‘ “Are you sure that is Osama bin Laden?”
‘ “Yes,” the girl said.
‘ “OK,” he said. “Thanks.”
‘Back in the hallway, he grabbed one of the wives by her arms and gave her a good shake.
‘ “Stop f****** with me now,” Will said, more sternly than before. “Who is that in the bedroom?” ’
Mission: The Al Qaeda leader was killed at this compound in Abbottabad by U.S. Special Forces - and Matt Bissonette claims that if SEAL Team 6 had never made it there they were to explain that they were searching for an unmanned drone to their Pakistani allies
Owen continues: ‘She started to cry. More scared than anything else, she didn’t have any fight left.’
‘ “Osama,” she said.
‘“Osama what?” Will said, still holding her arm.’
‘ “Osama bin Laden,” she said.’
With dual confirmation, the Seals ‘called it in’ to Admiral McRaven in Jalalabad, who was keeping President Obama updated.
While the soldiers cleared the building of material that would provide useful intelligence, Owen watched two Seals drag Bin Laden’s body by his legs down the stairs.
Searching the tiny bathroom, Owen found a box of Just For Men hair dye, which he assumed was what Bin Laden used on his beard.
Owen records that he was surprised by how tidily Bin Laden kept his clothes. All of his T-shirts were neatly folded into squares and his clothes were hung evenly spaced.
He discovered a rifle and a pistol, neither of them loaded.
Cover: No Easy Day is scheduled for release on September 4
Owen writes about his surprise that Bin Laden ‘hadn’t even prepared a defence’. He says the terror leader had no intention of fighting, though he asked his followers for decades to wear suicide vests or fly planes into buildings.
He says: ‘In all of my deployments, we routinely saw this phenomenon. The higher up the food chain the targeted individual was, the bigger a pussy he was.’
He says leaders are less willing to fight and that it was always the young and impressionable who strapped on the explosives and blew themselves up.
He writes: ‘Did he [Bin Laden] believe his own message? Was he willing to fight the war he asked for? I don’t think so. Otherwise, he would have at least gotten his gun and stood up for what he believed.
‘There is no honour in sending people to die for something you won’t even fight for yourself.’
The Seals had now been in the compound for 30 minutes and were reluctant to leave areas unsearched but had no choice.
Owen says Bin Laden’s body was put into a body bag. As many of the women and children as possible were herded into the guesthouse to protect them from the explosion when the Seals blew up the crashed helicopter.
Owen’s group of Seals, which had Bin Laden’s body, travelled on the remaining Black Hawk which, as a smaller, more manoeuvrable aircraft, had less of a chance of being shot down than the CH-47.
In the Black Hawk, one of the Seals had to sit on Bin Laden’s body which lay at Owen’s feet in the centre of the cabin.
At one point during the flight to Afghanistan, he says, they searched the body again but found nothing and the Seal returned to his seat on Bin Laden’s chest.
Despite having the body at his feet, Owen writes that he felt a sense of failure that the teams had left intelligence behind because they had run out of time.
Back at base in Jalalabad, the Seals loaded the body on to the back of a truck. It was to be transported to Bagram.
Admiral McRaven asked to see it. Owen says he pulled the body bag from the truck.
‘It flopped on the cement floor like a dead fish. Kneeling down, I unzipped the bag. Almost all of the colour had faded from his face and his skin looked ashy and grey. The body was mushy and congealed blood had pooled at the bottom of the bag.
‘There’s your boy,’ I said.
This undated file photo shows al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, in Afghanistan. A firsthand account of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden contradicts previous accounts, raising questions as to whether the terror mastermind presented a clear threat when SEALs first fired upon him
As McRaven stood over him, Owen pulled Bin Laden’s head from side to side by his beard so that the admiral could see his profile.
A crowd gathered as McRaven knelt down to take a closer look, writes Owen.
McRaven pointed at a Seal and asked how tall he was. ‘Six-four,’ the Seal answered – the same height as Bin Laden.
McRaven then asked the soldier to lie down next to the body so he could compare heights.
Owen claims that the measurement was mostly a joke but reflected the fact that, because of his darker beard, Bin Laden did not look exactly as expected.
But there was no real doubt that the Seals had got their man.
Last night a Defence Department spokesman, Lt Col Todd Breasseale, told The Mail on Sunday that the Pentagon and CIA were ‘shocked’ to learn only a week ago that 575,000 hardback copies of the book have already been printed.
It is already heading the Amazon bestseller list, displacing the Fifty Shades of Grey series, and Bissonnette is due to appear on US current affairs TV show, 60 Minutes, within the next few days.
The Pentagon has notified Bissonnette that he faces possible civil and criminal charges unless he cancels the book launch.
l No Easy Day by Mark Owen with Kevin Maurer is published by Michael Joseph at £18.99.
See Daily Mail VIDEO: Pentagon anger at 'bin Laden book'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2199513/Saad-Al-Hilli-shooting-French-Alps-Extraordinary-life-engineer-victim.html#ixzz25ruVlMzn
Mr Wijat's friend Magic Rabbit 
A four-year-old girl was found alive inside a car containing three victims of a fatal shooting spree