Incident Summary:

03/15/2012: Three off-duty soldiers in uniform were shot and killed in Montauban, Midi-Pyrenees, France. The soldiers were attacked while they stood in line at a cash machine. Mohammed Merah, a French citizen of Algerian descent, claimed responsibility for this incident.

GTD ID:
201203150003

When:
2012-03-15

Country:
France

Region:
Western Europe

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Midi-Pyrenees

City:
Montauban

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Military
Name of Entity French Army
Specific Description 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment
Nationality of Target France
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Handgun
Weapon Details
A .45 caliber pistol was used in the attack.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information This was one of three attacks claimed by Mohammed Merah, which took place over the course of nine days. The related attacks are 201203190009 and 201203110021. Merah was a self-proclaimed Al-Qaida militant, however Jund al-Khilafa, a group originating in Kazakhstan, claimed that Merah was one of their agents.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Muslim extremists Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Personal claim)
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 1
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 3 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 3
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
"French investigators launch probe over leaked gunman tapes," Agence France Presse, July 11, 2012.
"Leaked recordings of suspected Toulouse terrorist prompt uproar, investigation," Associated Press Newswires, July 9, 2012.
"Same gun used in Jewish school, soldier attacks: police," Agence France Presse, March 19, 2012.