Toulouse shooter buried in France

The gunman who claimed responsibility for France’s worst terrorist attacks in years has been buried.

The burial came after days of debate about what to do with the body of 23-year-old Mohamed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian origin.

His Algerian-born father wanted him buried in Algeria, but authorities there refused the request.

Police say Merah filmed himself killing three schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers earlier this month.

Merah, who espoused radical Islam and said he had links to al-Qaeda, was shot in the head last week after a stand-off with police in Toulouse.

Abdallah Zekri, of the French Muslim Council, said he was buried in the Muslim section of a cemetery in the Toulouse neighbourhood of Cornebarrieu. About 20 men attended the ceremony.