Al-Jazeera not to air video of French attacks

PARIS - The Associated Press

Members of the RAID special police forces unit prepare the assault near the Belle Paule residence where they attempt to arrest Mohamed Merah, the man suspected of a series of deadly shootings, was holed up, on March 22, 2012 in Toulouse, southwestern France. ABACA photo

Al-Jazeera says it will not air a video that appears to show the attacks on soldiers and a Jewish school in southwestern France from the killer's point of view.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, other French officials and family members of the victims had asked for the footage not to be broadcast.

The television station received the footage on a USB key sent with a letter to their Paris office.

Police traced the attacks to 23-year-old Frenchman Mohamed Merah who was killed last week after a more than 30-hour standoff with police at his apartment building.

Prosecutors have said that Merah filmed all of his attacks, which began March 11 with the murder of a French soldier. Before the spree ended, two more soldiers and three Jewish children and a rabbi were killed.